Councils spends £2m on a bus stop: for that price I'd want Mick Jagger singing 'Gimme Shelter'

Global austerity means that local councils and town mayors are having to cut their coats according to their cloth.

This message doesn’t seem to have reached the folks in Arlington County in Washington DC though, who have spent a staggering $1m (£660,000) on a bus shelter.

Not to be outdone, officials at Colchester and Essex County Councils have just opened a stop in Colchester which smashed DC’s attempt at profligacy and came in at a staggering £2m. And while our lucky American cousins in Virginia get a glass-and-steel roofed structure made of etched glass with planted landscaping and underfloor heating, the people of Colchester are having to make do with a seat and a bin under what can only be described as, er, a rather posh lean-to.

The Washington Post sent an intrepid hack to wait in line and get the local take on Arlington County’s masterpiece. “Is this made of gold?” asked one commuter. “That’s ridiculous,” said another. “From a citizen, from a voter, whoever put that budget through needs to get their butt canned.” There’s no word from the Colchester Gazette just yet, but Trending imagines the fine people of that historic town won’t be amused either.