I HAVE no wish to ruin anyone's day but I have a sneaking suspicion our council is running short of the "Redditch Readies" - cash, to you and me.

Why do I think it? Well, I recently wrote to Jacqui Smith MP asking if she would get the council to repair our broken street sign. This she has promptly done, for which I am most grateful.

However, the council has told her that: "Due to finance, the sign will not be re-installed but the posts (the remains) will be removed."

As we have more than one street sign, I am not too bothered that one has gone but if money is so tight that a humble street sign cannot be maintained, I fear we should all brace ourselves for yet another 14 per cent council tax rise. Or maybe more.

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