The county's health trusts face a �61m deficit by the end of the financial year, with a series of cuts drawn up.

But Graeme Kidd, mayor of Ludlow, said Shropshire was getting "the grubby end of the stick".

The councillor added: "The true solution to this crisis doesn't lie in closing local hospitals."

Figures suggest �2.4m could be saved by closing Bridgnorth Community Hospital, �1.8m from shutting the site at Whitchurch, and more savings from the downgrading of an accident and emergency department at Shrewsbury or Telford.

Mr Kidd said: "It looks to me like we are being presented with a cash-saving, cost-cutting, service-reducing solution to a problem that is not of our making.

"It lies in government admitting ultimate liability, picking up the tab for this awful financial mess, and setting us back on an even course. And then it must find ways of managing the managers so we don't get dumped into another disaster like this one."

Consultants are looking at ways to save money for Telford and Wrekin Primary Care Trust, Shropshire County Primary Care Trust, Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital NHS Trust.