A council accused of financial mismanagement has been given six weeks by the government to come up with a detailed action plan.

Local Government Minister Nick Raynsford said Whitehall troubleshooters would take over Hull City Council's services unless it resolved its financial problems.

The council was criticised in an Audit Commission report and told to save 10% of its �300m budget.

The financial watchdog accused the council of mismanaging its finances, failing to control housing stock and poor leadership.

Nick Raynsford has given the council six weeks

It was also criticised for the way it spent cash raised from the multi-million pound flotation of the city's telephone company, Kingston Communications, in 1999.

Mr Raynsford said he had written to the leader of Hull City Council giving it until September 13 to respond to the criticisms in the report.

He said: "Urgent and sustained action by the council is needed to address these matters."

Mr Raynsford's boss, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, has a special interest in the matter as he is an MP for Hull.

The council was Labour controlled until May when the Liberal Democrats won power.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is a Hull MP

The new leadership says an action plan is being prepared and will be ready by September.

Council Leader Simone Butterworth said: "The people of Hull want action, not rhetoric. Failure is not an option."

Labour councillors have insisted they were addressing the problems before they lost power.

It is the third time government action has been called for by the Audit Commission, following similar reports into Hackney Council, in east London, and Walsall, in the West Midlands.