A NO-DEAL Brexit poses a potential threat to basic local services like school meals and bin collections.

The leader of Glasgow City Council has cited concerns over food and fuel shortages if the UK crashes out of the EU this spring without a trade agreement.

Susan Aitken is the latest front-line leader to warn that Scottish public services will have to make contingency plans for a cliff-edge Brexit.

Last week Police Scotland said it too was bracing itself for a worse-case scenario.

Ms Aitken, speaking at a conference she organised on Glasgow’s Brexit-readiness, said the city was on “the cusp of the most economically and socially damaging event of our times.”

She added: “We are now taking about the consequences of a no deal Brexit.

“Will we have enough food to feed our children in our schools? Will we have enough fuel to complete the cleansing runs?”

“People in this city many of whom already struggle face new challenges outwith their control.

“What causes me concern is how vulnerable and exposed many in our communities are going to be for the shocks that are coming. “Will Brexit be the tipping point that pushes them into the abyss they might not recover from?”

A spokesman for the council said: “Brexit is a challenge to the resilience of any organisation.

“Council teams have business continuity plans that aim to manage the impact on critical services from anything from extreme weather to disruption to the supply of goods and services.

“Over the months ahead, Brexit will be part of the context for those wider plans and the response will depend on what, if any, deal emerges and also national resilience arrangements.”