The senior staff member was caught asking a private maintenance contractor to pay money towards a holiday.

But the builder refused and reported the bent official to his bosses.

The dismissal is the the latest development in a major fraud probe which has seen seven staff sacked and 13 suspended.

The council is investigating claims from residents of bribery, overcharging, unnecessary and poor quality work.

Edinburgh City Council uses a system of statutory notices to ensure essential repairs are carried out on its historic tenements.

Under the system, the council can intervene to organise repair work on private properties when the owners of shared buildings cannot reach agreement.

It is the only city in the UK where council surveyors can arrange the work through approved contractors and recoup the cash from owners.

The local authority also receives 15% of the final bill.

The value of statutory notices issued by council surveyors has increased in recent years, from £9.2m in 2005 to more than £30m in 2010

Council employees are accused of handing work to favoured contractors in return for bribes.

The Scotsman reported the latest official sacked had asked an unnamed contractor for a four figure sum after the corruption probe began.

The company refused to hand over the cash and alerted the council.

Mark Turley, the council’s director of services for communities, said: “This is one example and illustrates how seriously we are taking this matter.”