WREXHAM councillors have demanded an independent probe after costs for the district's two 'superschools' rocketed by more than £9m.

At a crisis meeting of the full council last week, outraged councillors said they had been 'misled' over the building costs of Ysgol Rhosnesni and Ysgol Clywedog, and Wrexham chief executive Isobel Garner warned she might take tough action over the financial fiasco.

The meeting was called to discuss a way forward after it emerged last week that building costs for the two schools, housing more than 2,000 pupils between them,hadsoaredfrom £12.2m to £21.3m.

The increase in costs is largely due to inflation and Government restrictions that require anincreaseofup to15%infloor space.

Detailed surveys also revealed that the buildings are in poor condition and require extensive refurbishment, and evidence of asbestos was also discovered.

Councillors were asked to agree a cap of £22.5m on the project with contractors Birse, while hoping the package could be delivered at £19.5m.

But the contractors could take almost a third of any savings and a further £1.2m of extra costs for playing fields, furniture and equipment and fees has also to be found.

Members said they had no choice and agreed to the recommendation.

Before the meeting, Wrexham mayor Cllr Aled Roberts warned that any verbal attacks on individuals could force the debate to be held behind closed doors, but the revelation of the increased costs lead to furious accusations from councillors.

LittleActon memberCllrRonDavies said: 'I am angry about this and we will need a full investigation, but that is for another day.'

His call was backed by other councillors, including leader Shan Wilkinson, who said: 'The truth is members are very angry and it's right that they are. The original promise was on the false premise that we thought we could have two state-of-the-art schools for £12.5m and members want to know how the price grew so high.'

Deputy council leader Cllr Alun Jenkins said he was 'saddened and sickened', while Wynnstay's Cllr Malcolm King said councillors had been misled three times and that trust between councillors and officers had been damaged.

The council is now looking at selling assets - including a school - and borrowing money, and Maesydre representative Cllr Chris Stubbs warned that publicly-owned buildings and grounds may have to be sacrificed.

He branded it asset stripping and said the council had failed as custodians of public property.

The finance and scrutiny committee is investigating what went wrong, and independent investigators could be called in at a later date.

Wrexham Council's director of finance and information systems Martyn Scholes said: 'The council has a strong asset base and has been commended for its financial control, which means it can, as a prudent interim measure, use its new statutory powers to borrow the extra money needed to pay the contractor.'