NIKE’S wings appear to have flown off from Warrington Borough Council literature five years after it first appeared.

The double tipped swoosh was brought in as the council’s logo in 2007 by the then Liberal Democrat and Conservative coalition.

At the time there was outrage from opposition Labour councillors at the new signage who said the change was a blow to the town’s heritage.

Now the ruling Labour group have decided to make the town crest the focus on council literature.

Council leader Clr Terry O’Neill (LAB - Burtonwood and Winwick) said: “We are trying to get some civic pride back into the town.

“There was a lot of issues with the new logo. There are still people who don’t recognise the Nike wings.

“There is no cost to put the crest rather than the logo.

“The crest will appear on any documents, whether hard copy or online, because I think it symbolises Warrington Borough Council.”

But the Lib Dems have accused Labour of behaving like dinosaurs and trying to change the council’s branding ‘by the backdoor’.

Lib Dem leader Clr Ian Marks (LD - Lymm) said: “We introduced the new logo back in 2007 as an emblem of a modern, forward looking successful local authority.

“It was designed by a local person and represents Nike the goddess who appears on the Golden Gates and signifies victory.

“At the same time we kept the traditional crest for ceremonial purposes because we were very proud of the tradition associated with it. We were getting the best of both worlds.

“We were quite unjustifiably accused by Labour of introducing the change without proper consultation. But what are they doing now? “Making a backwards change with no consultation at all.

“They showed their dinosaur tendency when we introduced iPads and they opposed this.

“These are now commonplace amongst private and public sector organisations and many in Labour think we should have more of them here in the Council. But they daren’t introduce them for fear of the flak they would get for doing a U-turn.”

But Clr O’Neill said there was no need to consult because the change would not cost the council any money and there was no policy to change signage.