IT was only last month when those merry people at Worcester City Council told us around £3m of cuts are needed by 2017/18.

With that dismal picture just starting to sink in, Worcestershire County Council comes along this week and reveals it has to make more savings, too.

For those with a good memory, back in 2010 County Hall revealed it wanted to save £43m over four years under a project called BOLD.

Eventually deemed useless, it was torn up and replaced by a bigger beast back in January, when the authority revealed it wanted to shed £20m from spending every year until 2017/18.

Only a few days ago David Cameron said the age of austerity could last another seven years, and with superb timing we learnt yesterday that the council’s figures are being revised upwards yet again.

The Tory leadership says it is now looking to cut £30m in 2014/15, and is preparing to save around £25m in each of the following years as we get closer to fulfilling Dave’s Decade of Despair.

Back in 2010 some bright spark at County Hall came up with the slogan ‘Better Outcomes Leaner Delivery’, as in BOLD.

They’ve got a top sense of humour, because if all this results in truly better outcomes it’ll be an absolute flippin’ miracle.

* TALKING of the cuts, more ludicrous PR arrived in our inbox this week courtesy of your hard earned taxes.

After questions from us yesterday spin doctors at County Hall rushed out a statement on the revised savings requirements, quoting leader Coun Adrian Hardman.

The Tory said: “It's not going to be easy, but we are determined Worcestershire will emerge at the end of this recession a stronger version of its prior self.”

A recession? Again? Someone better tell Dave, pronto!

* LABOUR politician Simon Cronin, a career publican, has taken over The Plough Inn in Lower Broadheath.

And just like for the rest of us, the stupid amount of traffic lights in that part of the county are slowly hitting home.

“There used to be a time when you’d stand outside one pub and be able to see another - now it’s traffic lights,” he hissed.

* A friend of mine went to his first ever Lib Dem swingers party recently.

Apparently they put all their car keys in a bowl, then they swapped points.