We know Oxford City Council is short of cash.

But it is appalling that it is having to resort to such desperate tactics to balance its books.

The latest suggestions to save money take some believing.

It is almost as if the Liberal Democrats have a death wish, and that they have given up all hope of retaining power at the Town Hall after the May elections.

Councillors are thinking of lowering the temperature at the city's swimming pools to cut fuel bills. How penny-pinching can you get?

Swimmers, particularly the elderly, are unlikely to take kindly to that sort of cut.

And if that is not bad enough, just look at the next proposal on the table - to reduce the number of hanging baskets and floral displays and pull out of Britain in Bloom.

Oxford has had great success in the national competition and its displays are admired by thousands every year.

Karen Roberts, chairman of Oxford in Bloom, is quite right when she says Oxford will be a poorer place without them.

A council spokesman said that if certain proposals proved unpopular, other economies would be considered.

Make no mistake, unpopular proposals will certainly include making swimming pools colder and depriving the city of some of its floral beauty.