CASH-strapped Cumbria County Council is paying a PR guru £700-a-day or £2,100 a week to help it cut costs and avoid bad headlines.

Midlands-based Mark Fletcher-Brown, who describes himself as a 'dynamic communications and reputation specialist' has started working at the authority for three days a week until March.

One of his roles for the Labour and Lib Dem-controlled council is advising its 10-strong corporate communications team on how to reduce costs and find savings from its annual spend, says the council.

The former journalist describes his specialities as 'implementable solutions'.

His website says he can provide advice on how to cut jobs while keeping people on side.

But a county councillor, who asked not to be named, said: "Isn't it ironic that his term of office is six months which takes us exactly to the end of the financial year when CCC will need to spin its new round of budget cuts."

The authority has to find £70 million of savings between now and 2018. Officers are working on savings plans which are likely to include cuts. By 2018, the county council will have £200 million less to spend but the Labour leadership has blamed the current Coalition Government. The county council said Mr Fletcher-Brown was not a 'political spin doctor' and would be bound by neutrality.

A statement read: "CCC is currently facing its biggest ever financial challenge and therefore we are looking to significantly reduce our spend on communications activity and products.

"The external expertise we have brought in will help us achieve a saving in the region of £200,000-£300,000 which will help protect front line services. Importantly, we are replacing someone who left the authority with a part-time temporary consultant."

It said the cost is 50 per cent less than the permanent post and therefore would represent a department saving.

"The council faces its biggest communication challenge in a generation. This is a massive task, with huge implications for the public and partner organisations. Communicating changes in services on this level, sharing the difficult decisions and getting people to help prioritise and protect services means the council is going to need to engage with people far more than ever before."

More than 900 council staff have taken redundancy or been made redundant in the last three years. Six hundreds posts are expected to have gone before March.

Council leader Stewart Young (Lab) has not responded to requests for comment.