A FURIOUS baths campaigner slammed Dudley as a ‘rotten borough’ with a Scrooge council - fast on its way to becoming the most unpopular in history at meeting this week.

Angry Brian Guest, who has campaigned passionately to try and save Coseley Baths from the axe, unleashed a no holds-barred attack on Dudley Council when he got his chance to speak at Monday’s meeting of the select commitee on regeneration, culture and adult education.

Referring to a letter about the Conservative controlled council’s handling of the baths saga which features in the current edition of Private Eye magazine - he said: “Dudley is now classed nationally as a ‘rotten borough’.

“It shows this council is the most unpopular in Dudley’s history.”

He also hit out at the council for having the “audacity” to approve a 25 per cent pay rise for councillors shortly after offering “Dickensian” late night and early morning swimming times to young members of Brierley Hill Swimming Club - which has since been forced to close; and for hiking the prices of meals on wheels for the elderly by more than 50 per cent last year.

He continued: “I think everyone in Dudley would be ashamed if this is the best this administration can do.

“Everybody in Dudley is angry with this council, which is now known nationally as a council with no heart.

“This is a Scrooge council - but when the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future appeared to Scrooge he did put things right - proving he had a heart. But we know this council does not have a heart.”

Leader of Dudley Council - Councillor Anne Millward - said afterwards: “If we’re so rotten - why are we a four star authority?

“We have got to do things we don’t really want to do because the of recession and financial situation we find ourselves in.”

What do you think? Is Dudley a rotten borough?