A COUNCIL which lost £6 million in an international banking scandal is to get a £1million windfall.

Bury council was one of the victims when the Bank of Credit and Commerce International collapsed with debts of $13 billion more than a decade ago. The council found itself among 70,000 creditors worldwide having invested following Bank of England guidelines at the time.

The council has since been fighting to recover its money. Now, in the latest of a series of payments, around £1m is coming back to the borough.

Bury Metro's deputy leader and executive member for resource Cllr Wayne Campbell said: "It is now well documented that the council lost £6m during the collapse and we have worked vigorously to see that money returned to the borough. This latest payment means that around 75 per cent of the total has now been recovered and we are still as committed as ever to retrieving the full amount."

"As a council we have a duty to account for all the money we spend or invest on behalf of the people of Bury. We will not be happy until we have done that with every penny from the BCCI debacle."

Over the last decade, Bury has been spearheading the fight to recover the money.

Ex-council solicitor Stan Monaghan has been representing the 20 or so local authorities who lost money in the collapse. He said: "Ten years ago people were offering to buy our debt for 10 per cent. Now we have recovered 75 per cent and hopefully there will be another dividend as a result our action against the Bank of England."