Stoke-on-Trent City Council may be forced to declare effective bankruptcy and make ‘radical cuts' to services if extra Government support is not secured, the council leader has warned.

The council is in talks with the Government for a package of extra financial support of up to £44.7m over a two-year period.

The local authority is consulting on proposals that would save a total of £3.4m, with a further £4.6m saved in back-office work.

Proposals to cut 16.1 net full-time equivalent job losses and increase council tax by 4.99% are also being considered.

Council leader Jane Ashworth said: ‘Times have seldom felt so hard – we know that is the case for many families in the city, and the same can be said for our public services. We have some very difficult choices to make if we are to set a balanced budget for the next financial year.'

She added: ‘Failure to set a balanced budget will probably result in government commissioners running the council, like in other areas across the country, which may result in radical cuts to services that we know local people care deeply about such as potentially closing leisure centres and museums, stopping street cleaning and grass cutting, less highway maintenance and less frequent bin collections.'