FURIOUS councillors say they have lost sleep about being forced to make £2.3m of budget cuts - making their borough the worst-hit district in the country.

Barrow Borough Council is facing a £2.37m funding deficit by 2020 because of further government grant reductions. This follows the £5m slash in revenue for 2012 to 2016 which the authority had to overcome.

Tonight councillors unanimously agreed to back the 2016-2020 budget strategy at an extraordinary meeting of the council saying it was the "best they could do in the circumstances", but slammed central government for "horrendous" cuts and "dismantling local government".

Among the saving proposals is outsourcing council-run leisure facilities The Forum and The Park Leisure Centre, in Barrow, to claw back £470,000. This idea has already met with some concerns from local groups.

Councillor Brendan Sweeney said: "I'm not sad or sorry, I'm damn furious about it. We should not be in this position.

"We reduced the spending by £5m, we got there and now government wants another £2.3m off us.

"Local authorities across the country are being hit appallingly and we are hit the worst."

"This is the best we can do with the circumstances before us."

Councillor Anne Burns said: "We have had to do the best we can. This government and the past government has dismantled local government.

"We are one of the councils to have the most money taken off it, in excess of 47 per cent.

People expect us to deliver the same service. We don't want to lose services."

Councillors said they want to work with people and organisations in the community to plan a way forward.

*See more on the budget proposals on Thursday's Evening Mail.

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