TROUBLED Medway Council has had another bad report from its auditors. Its housing repairs service has been given a "no star" rating and is officially described as poor, despite a 25 per cent increase in spending in the past year.

Only last week, its external auditors said it could no longer continue to rely on its reserves if it was to succeed in regenerating the towns.

The news comes on the eve of the Audit Commission's official rating of the whole council. It will be the first time that Medway has been directly compared with other authorities in Britain.

But a comprehensive review of the housing department kept secret by council officials criticises the service which has consistently underspent despite having a £2 million backlog of repairs.