THEY'RE the tops -- official. But as Blackburn with Darwen Council basks in the glory of being voted the best in Britain, some may be perplexed by the 'achievements ' that so impressed the judges.

For, oddly, among the main ones cited, two involved the town hall offloading services to others who ostensibly can do them better or cheaper.

These were the handing over of council houses to a private housing association and the administration of housing benefits and other services to the private-sector firm, Capita.

Presumably, this must be good management; otherwise, a council admitting that someone else can make a better fist of things would have not got so far in a contest involving 250 other local authorities.

But if, as I observe, such practices are not uncommon in local government nowadays, it must have been other things that swung it for Blackburn with Darwen as the judges ran the rule over the five finalists.

They were, after all, looking for good practice and innovative ways of improving services.

And with recent examples of such including the road gritting fiasco; the (now rejigged) orbital route that drove drivers up the wall and another year of deliberate daffodil destruction, it's plain to see how Blackburn with Darwen stole it at the finish.

With all this excellence, it beats me how the next day they were denied city status.