They may be heavily censored, but the expenses claims published on the Parliament website give a fascinating insight into the working lives of the six MPs who serve the people of Shropshire and Mid Wales.

The obvious time and effort involved in drawing up the claims will add to the growing call for an overhaul of the system so MPs can devote more time to their constituents.

Even the tiniest, most mundane domestic items, such as a 66p bottle of bleach, have been carefully itemised and receipts provided so the MPs can be reimbursed for the cost of living in London.

Taxi journeys, parking tickets, office fans, pencils, air fresheners, phone bills, maps, tins of coffee, staples and even wigs all appear on the claim sheets. There are also the big bills, such as mortgage payments on second homes and the cost of food and utilities.

After looking yesterday at local MPs’ expenses claims for 2007/8, the Shropshire Star today turns the spotlight on the two preceding years. Among the claims made by Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski were more than £1,000 on a bed for his new flat in the capital and a table and chairs set costing £210.

Among his other claims were £72.93 for an oscillating pedestal fan, and £95 for wiring and phone work in his office. He also paid £558.13 for CCTV equipment and a door intercom system.

Telford MP David Wright’s expense claims for additional costs he faced rose by just under £5,000 in 2006/7 compared to the previous year. His mortgage payments also increased over the same period – in 2006/7 he was claiming for a monthly £1,321.67, compared to between £420 and £1,185.77 in 2005/6.

One of the biggest outlays he claimed for was publicity. It saw him put in claims of £5,087.24 to print and deliver newsletters and leaflets over 2006/7 and £6,856.93 the previous year.

Claims by Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, are dominated by receipts for taxi journeys, office stationery and equipment, cleaners and marketing companies which publicise his activities.

Mr Pritchard, who regularly writes his own press releases and supplies his own photographs to newspapers, claimed £184.95 for a Minolta camera. His monthly mortgage bill for his London flat was generally £1,451.

North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson’s expenses ranged from fees of £3,000 and above to pay for researchers, to a £30 bill for a stapler and staples for his Westminster office.

Like most MPs, he has a second home in London and the monthly repayments on that property were his biggest additional cost allowance. Mortgage repayments on his second home from 2005 to 2008 ranged from £1,041 to £1,657.

Montgomeryshire MP Lembit Opik claimed £29.98 after buying two wigs from a shop in London in June 2007. But one of Mr Opik’s largest outgoings over the past four years has been on his mobile phone, on which he spent £1,523.95 from July 2006 to January 2007.

Ludlow’s MP lived up to his previous claims that he is the lowest-cost MP in the county.

Philip Dunne is one of the few MPs who did not claim for a second home. Some of his main expenditure covers staffing, including research and secretarial. In 2006/7 he spent nearly £15,000 on staffing and just more than £25,000 in 2007/8.