Cash-strapped council erects giant Christmas tree in October

Despite its drowning debts, the council has decided to put up a huge Christmas tree over two months before Christmas day.

The huge tree was placed in Birmingham city centre's Victoria Square in preparation for its annual German market.

The huge 20-metre tree has sparked outrage among locals, who complain that it has been put up "too soon".

Birmingham resident Richard McQuaid said: "It would be nice if the council came and collected my bins this early - they need to get their priorities right.

"While everywhere else is decorated for Halloween, the square outside the council house looks more like it's the middle of December.

"It's still more than two months away from Christmas, so it feels way too soon.

"I'm not sure how festive the people of Birmingham are going to be feeling this year - our bankrupt council won't collect our bins, but they want to throw us a big Christmas party."

Another local, Georgina Walsh, said: "The Christmas market is becoming more of a divisive issue in Brum - you either love it or hate it.

"But to be talking about it in October while the leaves are still on the trees just feels wrong - get Halloween and Bonfire Night out of the way first."

One person took to social media, writing: "Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree… it's still October!"

The Birmingham Frankfurt Christmas Market is due to open on November 1 and will continue until December 24.

The council said it had a debt per head of population of £2,875 and that its cash balance at March 31 was £219.4million, meaning a net debt of £3.13billion at the time.

It noted the costs of servicing its overall debt, including interest payments and repayment of debt, were built into the council's medium-term financial plans.

It said: "At this stage there is no indication that a section 114 will need to be issued as a result of the debt levels as current budget projections are within available resources."

The council claimed that its debts were not what triggered the section 114.

It noted that it was its inability to balance the books, citing equal pay claims as one of the council's major issues.

The council said it faces a bill of £760million to settle those, which were mainly brought by staff working in traditionally female-dominated jobs.

The local authority was also counting the cost of a huge overspend on an IT project.

GB News has contacted Birmingham City Council for comment.