Councils spent more than £750,000 last year on booking celebrities to appear at events, according to new figures.
A freedom of information request by The Sun newspaper revealed that 348 councils spent £753,013 on stars to switch on Christmas lights, to appear at concerts and to judge competitions.
The investigation found that Armagh Council paid £26,800 to former Westlife singer, Kian Egan, while Coventry City Council paid Happy Mondays £25,000 to appear at its Godiva Festival.
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets also paid TV chef Ainsley Harriott £10,750 to judge a curry competition.
Speaking to the paper, Andy Silvester from the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: ‘You couldn't make it up. The deficit must be cut, and that means councils waging war on wasteful spending like this.’
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