First in-depth documentary about Birmingham's financial crisis since brutal budget cuts airs tonight

Bankrupt Birmingham: The story behind Europe's biggest council financial crisis is airing on Freeview tonight.

The documentary has been produced by Birmingham World, the Express & Star's sister title, and TV viewers can tune into watch on Shots, channel 276, at 9.10pm.

However, the documentary is also available online on demand and can be watched now at shotstv.com/watch/vod/52396480.

The film has been made by award-winning Birmingham World journalist Fionnuala Burke who secured interviews with Birmingham City Council leader Councillor John Cotton.

Birmingham residents are facing a 21 per cent hike in council tax over the next two years whilst their services are being brutally axed. Despite the city being in the grip of a teenage knife epidemic, council bosses have targeted youth services as one way of saving cash, axing the £1m anti-knife crime programme Resolve and Resilience.

The council was forced to issue a Section 114 notice last year, which in effect is declaring itself bankrupt, and the film explores what led to the authority becoming a financial basket case.

Government cuts to local authority budgets have forced councils across the country to cut local services. However, in Birmingham's case there were unique circumstances which were created by decisions by council bosses stretching back decades.

The council had to pay hundreds of millions of pounds in equal pay claims, after leaving itself open to legal action by women who were not paid the same as male counterparts, and wasting more than £100m on an IT system, Oracle, which became a financial black hole.

Government Commissioners were enforced on the city council, at the cost of £10,000 a day, to work with the leadership to ensure financial stability and sensible decision making.

Bankrupt Birmingham: The story behind Europe's biggest council financial crisis is the first in-depth documentary into the crisis since the ruling Labour group passed next year's budget earlier this month.

Tune into Freeview Channel 276, Shots, the dedicated news channel run by by the Express & Star's owners National World.