UK councils have run up a staggering amount of debt of almost £100billion, equivalent to around £1,400 per person.

The levels of debt have been described by the chairwoman of the Commons public accounts committee as “staggering”, who warned of a huge risk to local services.

Committee chair Dame Meg Hillier warned of detrimental impacts to residents if more councils go bust.

“Some of the outlier examples of high local authority debt are staggering,” she said. “And the impact on services for residents is liable to be extreme and long-lasting.”

According to the BBC, UK councils owe a combined total of £97.8billion to lenders.

The borrowing amounts of each council varied, with 38 owing no money at all, whilst some owed as much as £3billion.

Woking, Thurrock and Nottingham City Councils are facing major cuts after all three have gone bust in the last two years.

In Woking, which has the highest level of debt in the country at £19,000 per person, special measures have been put in place.

However, the Surrey district council’s debt is expected to sky-rocket, rising to £1.6billion after it has committed millions to develop skyscrapers in the town centre.

To combat the rising levels of debt, the local authority has proposed £12million in tax cuts next year, including the removal of community and arts facilities in the area.