Council demands lamp posts undergo bunting-hanging tests!

Jubilee party plans are being threatened by a council edict demanding that lamp posts undergo tests to ensure they are strong enough to hold bunting.

The move by Lancashire County Council has been branded 'health and safety gone mad' amid fears that celebrations to mark the Queen's 70-year reign could be muted.

Bureaucrats are insisting that parish and town councils shell out £55 to test any lighting column that is more than seven years old.

If they don't pass the inspection, they can't be used to hang decorations such as bunting, baskets and lights.

Council chiefs say the assessments are to protect the public and have always carried a fee, but local officials insist they have never been billed before and say they do not have the funds to spend.

Lorraine Beavers, Labour county councillor for Fleetwood East, said: 'We are not going to put bunting up on lamp posts in Fleetwood for the Jubilee. It's an added cost we don't need on top of everything else.'

The council has also stipulated a 20kg (44 lb) weight limit for hanging baskets.

Three years ago, Lancashire County Council was embroiled in a row when it banned organisers of the Lytham Day Club gala festival from hanging bunting across roads on health and safety grounds.