The warning comes in a report from union, Unison, which said that local councils are facing potential financial instability as more could be heading towards a Section 114 notice.

The research identified the five councils which are predicted to struggle the most, forcing them to make tough decisions about how they spend their funding, which could include cutting back on essential public services, including closing libraries and reducing bin collections.

Hampshire has a funding gap for the 2025-26 financial year of £132m, followed by Bradford (£126m), Birmingham (£119m), Somerset (£104m), and Leicester (£90m).

For example, Leicester which may issue a s114 bankruptcy due to financial problems, is running a 19.6% deficit from a total budget of £462m. The city has a population of 373,000 based on 2022 figures.