It was revealed yeaterday that 20 councils across the UK have multi-million pound reserves in the investment banks in the country. They are calling for the British government to offer them the same protection guarantees as it has for personal savers.

But council officers in and around Leamington were keen to put residents' minds at ease. Warwickshire County Council and Warwick and Stratford district councils had no such sums invested.

Warwick District Council leader Michael Doody (Con, Radford Semele) said: "We have no money in Icelandic banks. The current climate is difficult but it is not so difficult that we will stop proving the best service we can."

The county's head of finance Oliver Winters said choosing safe investments was becoming more difficult. He said: "I heard the news that at least 20 local authorities have investments in the troubled Icelandic investment banks.

"Warwickshire County Council is not one of these authorities, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a safe haven. We continue to monitor events and are taking a very cautious approach.

"Our overriding objective is to protect the principal sums invested, even if this means we may not be achieving the maximum return offered by some investment institutions."

Stratford District Council Leader Les Topham (Con, Sambourne) said: "We are quite safe and all of our money is guaranteed.

"Even our current account which we have for housekeeping is safe and so is the small amount of money we manage ourselves. We have no money in any obscure banks."

UK officials will today demand that £1bn in funds invested by councils and other public bodies in the collapsed banks must be recovered quickly. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would do "everything in his power" to see money was secured.

Government officials and representatives from the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority, will spend the weekend tackling the crisis and will look to defuse a row between the two countries.

The Icelandic government took control of three of its leading banks earlier this week.