The debt mountain of local councils across the UK has grown to an eye-watering £122billion - equivalent to £1,700 per person, a study has revealed.
The financial struggles have seen local authorities resort to 'essentially payday loans' through the sale of schools, care homes and sports clubs, one expert said.
Research by the BBC Shared Data Unit found local councils have sold £2.9billion of public assets ober the past two years, other than social homes sold through the Right to Buy scheme.
Those with the highest debts were twice as likely to have been among the highest sellers, the analysis showed.
Dr Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), said 'public value' would continue to be eroded until Westminster came up with a long-term solution to council debt.
