Council bosses have been labelled ‘Scrooge’ after slashing the Christmas lights and decorations budget by 75 per cent.

From this year the annual budget will be cut from £60,000 to £15,000.

Coun Ken Moss, Hyndburn council’s portfolio holder for leisure, said the council had made significant investments to bring lights ‘up to standard’ and that the £15,000 budget was ‘adequate’.

However, Conservative group leader Coun Peter Britcliffe said the amount was ‘pathetic’ and would not stretch far enough.

He told a cabinet meeting last week: “Scrooge is alive and well in the Labour Party.

“For a start £15,000 is absolutely nowhere near enough to provide lights in seven or eight townships. Obviously the lights are going to be dim.

“In Oswaldtwistle we have used something like £6,000 to replace lights I think that says to everybody around the borough that £15,000 isn’t enough.

“There is no need for this cutback. It's almost like you want to bear your souls and say to everyone how poor you are. You are not poor at all and are spending more than four years ago.”

Under the plans approved by the council, any festive displays currently funded by area budgets will not be funded once the area budget runs out.

There will be no capital spends for new displays apart from general maintenance and replacements of any defective festive decorations would be funded from the £15,00 pot on a 'need for replacement' basis and not a budget apportioned per area.

If the budget is found to be 'insufficient' then consideration will be given to reducing the extent of festive decorations provided in all areas to 'align costs with the available budget'.

Coun Moss told the meeting: “The cost each year was topping £60,00 which is just unsustainable as a long-term cost.

“We have had a look at it comprehensibly in order to curtail the amount and stop it rising each year but keep the standard as it is.

“There will be an annual capital budget of £15,000 and that will keep all the Christmas and festive decorations in a good condition without the need for any major spending.

“We have supplemented the budget in previous years to bring the lights up to standard. Now they are it should no cost more than £15,000 capital per year to maintain them.”