Councillors in Sefton meet over budget cuts

The council faces a budget shortfall of £63m over four years

Councillors in Sefton on Merseyside are meeting to consider budget cuts which could mean up to 1,000 job losses.

The council faces a budget shortfall of £63m over the next four years following a reduction in government grants.

Hundreds of council workers staged a rally outside Bootle Town Hall where the meeting took place on Thursday.

Council leader Tony Robertson said alternatives to cutting jobs were "difficult to find, because of the level of cuts we've got to make."

Glen Williams, from Unison, said workers were protesting to make their feelings known.

"Hundreds of people have turned up today to show their anger at what is being proposed," he said.

"I think the next stage is to work with the council to try and explore real alternatives other than job cuts and misery for Sefton."

The council is being forced to make savings in the wake of the Government's Spending Review.

It has already saved about £3m with an ongoing voluntary redundancy and early retirement scheme.

However, staff were warned the council, which is in no overall control, may have to lose about 1,000 posts.