COUNCIL chiefs have blocked a bid to spend £2 million improving tatty pavements - with one Worcestershire Conservative sparking incredulity by asking people to wear better FOOTWEAR instead.

A group of councillors wanted to water down a £12 million project to upgrade Worcestershire's roads and sink £2 million of it into the footways.

During a vote at Worcestershire County Council it was rejected by 31 votes to four, amid concerns it would take too much investment away from the roads.

But during the debate Councillor Liz Eyre, a former member of the Tory leadership, said the public should buy better shoes instead.

She told them she'd gone out and bought "a pair of sports shoes" for £34 which made a difference to her ability to walk around comfortably, with Labour councillors calling the remark "astonishing".

Labour Councillor Peter McDonald called it "crass stupidity", urging her to vote with the spending.

He said "what's she's saying is 'it's not the pavements' fault', it's the shoes we are wearing", while Joe Baker called it "insulting" and "offensive".

Councillor Eyre said: "Why can't we learn from people in Nordic countries, they have boot-shoes, different arrangements for when they are indoors and outdoors, think laterally chaps."

The Conservatives insisted that they did want to invest in pavements but said sticking to a figure of £2 million was too random, and too high.

Councillor John Smith, the cabinet member for highways and transport, said: "The whole point of having this £12 million towards the roads is because we've taken good, professional officers' advice.

"They are telling us this is what we need to spend on roads over the next two years to get our highways into a good state so we can maintain them."

He said they would use some of the £12 million on pavements following the request, but insisted it could not be a "significant" chunk.

"We will already spent £2 million on footways in the current budget and I'd remind councillors they get £35,000 each to spend in this area (on pavement repairs)," he said.

Councillor Simon Geraghty, the leader, said "It's the £2 million figure, frankly, that we have concerns about.

"We will assess what portion of spend is needed on footways and bring something forward, but what we're seeking to do is take out the reference to £2 million."

The Labour and Lib Dems refused to agree, saying they feared taking out a firm figure would result in a much smaller investment.

The £12 million two-year plan to improve county roads is called 'Driving Home' and the vote means the vast majority will still go on highways.