Local councils are notorious for their foolhardy love of shiny new logos - that cost unsuspecting taxpayers tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Blackburn and Barrow councils in the Northwest, though, have excelled themselves by managing a new feat. Not only have both of them spent taxpayers' money on new logos, they have managed to get identical designs - heart-shaped versions of the letter B:
Whilst both authorities now look rather silly, it's Blackburn who particularly have egg on their faces. They spent a disgusting £60,000 on their green heart logo, whilst Barrow got theirs at a snip for £140. That's frankly still £140 too much, but it's a damned sight better than the cost of three police officers' annual salaries.
Worryingly, Barrow are threatening to let down their so far fairly thrifty record by bringing copyright action against Blackburn. Copyright action? It's ridiculous - not only have they all spent their taxpayers' hard-earned money on these primary school doodles, they are actually thinking about getting m'learned friends involved, for a fee of goodness knows how much.
According to reports, a spokesman for Blackburn's town-centre partnership said: "Great minds do think alike." There's a second half to that saying, though - "Fools seldom differ." I'll let you decide which of the two is more appropriate