Council taxpayers will be asked for a four per cent increase to fund Swindon Borough Council when bills are sent out in April.

But they will be able to take their children to Coate Water splash park - if they don't get clobbered by pickets from more traffic wardens.

Amendments and changes to to the council's budget, which was agreed on Thursday will see £200,000 set aside to help fight the closure of the Honda plant £100,000 in hiring additional enforcement officers, whose duties will include issuing fines to errant parkers.

And it was confirmed that work will start to fix problems at the splash park so it will open this summer

But Labour plans to spend £1.5 million on a variety of measures, including setting up three new children's centres were voted down.

Introducing the budget, Coun Russell Holland, the Conservative cabinet member for finance said: "This budget is so much more than numbers on a page. We make no apologies for spending the majority of our funding on those most in need. Yes it is challenging, yes it is difficult but this is both a statutory and moral obligation to help those in need.

"We are also taking continued to steps to help people affected by debt, to campaign against loan sharks, to promote credit unions and our save to earn scheme. We have a council save-as-you-earn scheme. We took prompt action to assist Swindon Foodbank when it faced difficulties.

"All these things come at a cost- 3.99 per cent, under £5 a month."

But Labour councillors were not impressed. The party put forward an amendment which would have seen another £1.55m of spending added to it, including the hiring of more enforcement officers.

Coun Kevin Small, introducing the amendment said the extra money would come from £350 expected in more enforcement fines brought in by the new staff and £1.2m using the infrastructure and regeneration fund.

Labour leader Jim Grant said: "The Conservative councillors campaigned for Conservative governments in 2015 and 2017 knowing what would happen to local government. They wanted this austerity - they can't say it's nothing to do with them."

The budget was passed by Conservative and independent councillors - Labour and Lib Dems councillors abstained, unwilling to vote for the budget, but wanting the £200,000 Honda fund added to be brought in/