The UK's highest paid vice-chancellor is retiring from the University of Bath amid a row over claims of excessive pay among university leaders.

Dame Glynis Breakwell, vice-chancellor of Bath University whose salary package is £468,000, will leave her post at the end of the summer term next year.

However, she will take a sabbatical on full pay before retiring in February 2019. The university revealed that it will also write off the interest-free loan for her £31,000 car which she can keep.

Dame Glynis earned £451,000 in 2015/16 including benefits.

A Freedom of Information request by the Bath Chronicle revealed that she received a pay rise of 3.9% in 2016/17.

This translated to an extra £17,589 - meaning she earned more than £468,000 in salary and benefits last year.

The vice-chancellor had faced a wave of challenges and media attention since her salary was made public, with more than 300 staff calling for her resignation.

However, last week Dame Glynis narrowly survived a motion of no confidence in the university's senate, leading to four local MPs resigning from their roles at the university.

And there are more protests and censures planned, with criticism from staff and students that her pay was unreasonably high.

Former Education Minister Lord Adonis had called her pay "shameless and outrageous". Lecturers had also complained that her pay had risen much more rapidly than the salaries of university staff.

Students, staff and critics have called for Dame Glynis to depart from the university with immediate effect.

The embattled vice-chancellor said: "Since 2001 the University has changed dramatically. It has almost tripled in size and is now among the top universities in the UK.

"It has had many great achievements in its first 51 years and it will go on to be even greater."