A council which portrayed its bosses as 'superheroes' in a video to promote the authority's improvement programme has been blasted as 'completely out of touch' by some staff.

The video, which is only available for staff but has been seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, depicts Cheshire East's chief executive Rob Polkinghorne and the council's other top bosses as 'caped crusaders'.

It was produced to promote an upcoming online staff meeting about the transformation programme, which the cash-strapped council is embarking upon to try to save nearly £100 million over the next four years.

But it has provoked an angry backlash from some council staff who say they are worried about job cuts and the impact on services.

One, who did not wish to be named, told the LDRS: "The executive team has created a YouTube video with superhero alter egos for themselves.

"These people are making decisions on what services to cut, whose jobs to cut, whose livelihoods will be affected and whose support networks will be severed, all while taking home very generous salaries courtesy of the taxpayer – yet they view themselves as caped crusaders?

"Completely out of touch and in extremely poor taste."

A Cheshire East spokesperson said the council had received some 'really positive feedback' from some members of staff.

The spokesperson said: "We produced a short video as part of a wider campaign to help staff get involved in our work to transform and improve the organisation.

"The LGA's peer challenge made specific recommendations about improving the way we engage with our staff around our whole organisation transformation plan.

"We are trying out different creative approaches to engage colleagues. If we don't try different things we won't be able to change anything.

"We have had some really positive feedback from colleagues who enjoyed this fun approach to a serious topic."

He added: "The theme of the video was inspired by superhero movies.

"But we all know that the real superheroes at the council are the frontline workers, such as our care workers and safeguarding teams, looking after people who need extra help, our social workers, waste collection teams, enforcement officers, and community support officers and the many other officers who continue to serve with dedication and professionalism every day, and we are incredibly grateful for the services they deliver."