BURNLEY Council spent almost £50,000 on award ceremonies in the past three financial years – including one where entertainers dressed as trees.

Councils across the UK spent more than £6.5million on arranging award ceremonies, according to a new report.

Some East Lancashire councils failed to provide figures, requested by campaign group the TaxPayers’ Alliance under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act.

Burnley Council revealed it had forked out £48,649 over the last three years, while Chorley spent £2,360.

The alliance singled out some councils for “dishonourable mentions” in relation to their award spending.

It said Burnley Council spent an estimated £25,000 on the bi-annual Burnley Business Awards in 2017, which including a champagne reception, live music and entertainers dressed as trees, shrubbery and wildlife.

Pendle and Rossendale councils spent nothing over the three years, while Blackburn with Darwen and Hyndburn did not provide the requested information.

Across the UK, a total of 13 councils spent more than £100,000 while 65 spent nothing.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the alliance, said families would be “disappointed” to discover councils spending money on “unnecessary extravagances”.

He added: “There’s nothing wrong with congratulating staff who work hard or celebrating local businesses, but councils should prioritise the essential services that they are paid to provide.

“It’s encouraging to see that so many councils were successful in negotiating sponsorship arrangements to pay for some ceremonies, and all local authorities in the UK should seek to do the same.”

The alliance said it sent FOI requests to 419 councils in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with 53 failing or refusing to respond or providing an “inadequate” response.

A spokesman for the Local Government Association said: “The value of these events is worth far more to communities and local economies than their cost.”

The average award ceremony spending in London was more than double the English average.

Burnley Council failed to respond to a request for a comment.