COUNCIL bosses spent £26,000 on consultants in drawing up a walking strategy, it was revealed at Wednesday's executive.

Mr Arthur Withington, during public questions, said he had failed to discover how much Bury spent in total on consultants because it was apparently too difficult to separate those costs from the various budgets.

He said that this £26,000 might be a "a drop in the ocean", but if all eight Labour members spent the same on just one consultancy each, the amount would "become a cup".

He suggested that the chief executive take a look at the amount Bury spent, perhaps through the internal auditor.

Councillor Wayne Campbell, deputy council leader, said: "I have concerns too, but in some cases we need that technical expertise we don't have. Either we double the number of people we employ or bring people in when we need it."

He added: "Another council nearby stopped using consultants but it now costs them millions of pounds. Where they are needed we should be using them."