Malvern Town Council will use the Freedom of Information Act to demand details of staff salaries at Worcestershire County Council.

The council is to ask several questions about staffing and salaries due to fears the authority has too many employees on large salaries.

At its meeting on Tuesday, the town council unanimously backed a motion by Coun Alistair Macmillan, calling for the county to reveal the information.

As well as staff numbers Coun Macmillan is asking how many new jobs the council created in 2005/6 and how many it expects to create in 2006/7.

In addition, he wants to know how many of these jobs carry salaries of more than £50,000 a year, and what the council spends on wages and salaries.

"I'm getting desperately worried about the situation, which is getting out of control," he said.

Coun Macmillan said he proposed the motion because his previous attempts to get the information from the county council had been "side-stepped".

Concern has been rising recently about the county council's finances.

Leader Coun George Lord warned earlier this year the council needed to cut spending by £3.5 million.

Last week, the Gazette revealed how the council had created a new post, head of community leadership, with a salary of up to £70,000.

Coun Adrian Hardman, the country council's cabinet member for resources, said: "We can provide this information within 21 days as the legislation requires, but most of it is freely available.

"What members of the town council don't seem to realise is how much our staffing levels are dictated by statutory regulations from the government."