Ernie Clark. Hilperton Division, Wiltshire Council.

What other bloopers are there to come out of the financial closet?

Wiltshire Council's finances have gone further into the red because of a series of errors made by council officers in setting up a new computer contract.

According to a financial monitoring report to be considered by the council's cabinet next week, these errors amount to about £1m. In addition, the council's failure to realise that cold weather creates pot holes put another £500k on the wrong side of the budget.

The council intends to balance the books by taking still more money from reserves. The General Fund reserve has dropped by nearly £3m in the past year and is forecast to stand at £11.1m at year end.