A union official in Cumbria has warned of job losses if proposed pay hikes of up 23% are awarded to council bosses.

Stuart Moules, Unison's branch secretary, says his members are incensed by the pay rises that have been proposed for county council managers.

Chief executive, Louis Victory, could get a 23% rise while a further 37 senior managers are in line for increases of between 8-18%.

The news comes just days after the ruling Conservative and Liberal Democrat alliance warned there were likely to be council tax rises of about 15%.

Overall it has got absolutely nothing to do with efficiency, it's got everything to do with greed I'm afraid Stuart Moules, Unison

Mr Victory said the pay increases were needed to attract higher-calibre applicants to senior positions and would come from efficiency savings.

But Mr Moules, the union's branch secretary, said the rises could mean cuts in services

His members said they were told they would only get 3%, and that any more would be unrealistic for public servants.

Mr Moules told BBC Radio Cumbria: "The vast majority of the council's money is spent on salaries, so where does he think it is going to come from.

"What will happen here is of course the vacancies they have will take a little longer to fill, there will be job losses.

"Overall it has got absolutely nothing to do with efficiency, it's got everything to do with greed I'm afraid."

The Conservative leader of the authority, Rex Toft, said the increase was needed to improve services.

But the leader of the opposition, Labour councillor Stewart Young, said the rise was not justified and was an insult to the council's poorly paid staff.