ALMOST nine out of ten authorities face a multi-million pound hole in their finances due to coronavirus ­— with some facing the prospect of bankruptcy, an investigation has revealed.

The pandemic has cost Bolton Council £33 million ­— up to now.

Authorities across the UK were asked about impact of coronavirus on their finances ­— with some saying cuts may have to be made.

Bolton Council refused to reveal the shortfall in its finances as part of the national investigation, carried out by the BBC's Shared Data Unit.

In the North West, the average predicted worst-case shortfall per council was £113m.

Councils face increased costs from supporting vulnerable people, while their income from fees and rates is falling.

The Bolton News reported earlier this month COVID-19 has created extra cost pressures on the council of £15m.

The local authority could also suffer a loss of income of up to £18m due to a fall in council tax, business rates and other payments it collects.

Deputy leader of Bolton Council, Cllr Martyn Cox said: "Every organisation up and down the country will be in someway or another affected by this pandemic and the council is no exception.

“It is too early to tell the impact on the council, but officers are working extremely hard to establish the impact and Conservative councillors will lobby hard to ensure the council gets the resources it needs to deliver the services people expect.”

Cllr Nick Peel, leader of Bolton’s Labour group, described the impact of coronavirus on council budgets as hugely worrying — and asked why the questions regarding finances had not been answered.

He said: “The council had already earmarked the remaining reserves to shore up this year's budget. Bolton Council’s budget strategy is dependent on gr owth in business rates and there is a question mark over that.

“The main point is that 10 years of austerity has already seen a massive amount of money stripped from council budgets. If we did not have the decade of austerity we may have been able to get through this crisis. The situation we are in is that now councils across the country face bankruptcy. "Council workers have been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19 and it is immoral and unacceptable that they should again be at the brunt of any cuts resulting from this.

The council has received £17.1 m in emergency Government funding.