Middlesbrough mayor Ray Mallon warns more jobs will be cut

Middlesbrough Council will have to cut more jobs and axe further services, mayor Ray Mallon has warned.

Mr Mallon called for individual councillors to come up with ideas that will each save £1m before next year's budget is set.

He said: "The cuts will be longer and deeper than was originally envisaged, and the impact on this council and the town as a whole will be drastic."

More than £50m is being cut from the council's budget over four years.

The mayor gave his assessment during a council meeting where the timetable for agreeing the 2013/14 budget was set.

He said councillors had to avoid "pandering to the prejudices of the public" and must face up to difficult decisions.

"Going bankrupt is not an option, so this council must reduce in size, and that will mean more job losses, and there will be some things which we can no longer do," Mr Mallon said.