Brit bureaucrats using taxpayer-funded credit cards to buy yoga equipments for quango

British bureaucrats have reportedly used taxpayer-funded credit cards to purchase yoga equipments for quangos, along with other accessories.

Freedom of information laws have forced the release of details of spending on the so-called 'government procurement card' at the Government Offices for the Regions, the Daily Mail reports.

The quangos spent almost five million dollars of taxpayers' money using official credit cards under Labour in just three years between April 2007 and March 2010. Reports suggest that 850 pounds was spent on the website secondlife.com, a '3D virtual world where users create an avatar to socialise, connect and create in a parallel world', while almost 400 pounds was charged for a visit to Crystal Mountain, a 'ski and summer resort' on America's west coast.axpayers were billed for over 275 pound spent at Silly Jokes Ltd, which is described as 'one of the UK's leading online party shops, offering fancy dress, party supplies and practical jokes', the paper said.

Over 6,000 pounds was spent at the Carlisle races, around 1,300 pounds at the zoo, almost 35 pounds on chocolate buttons and 1,500 pounds on flowers.ome 1,270 pounds was charged to official credit cards in a piano bar called Tickled Ivory, while over 100 pounds on yoga equipment and more than 3,000 pounds on skiing and ski wear, the paper added.

In addition, 36 pounds was charged for shoe repairs, over 6,000 pounds was spent at Center Parcs and 100 pounds at 'The Rum Story', a Caribbean-themed attraction in Cumbria. More than 1,500 pounds was spent at the theatre, while 150 pounds went on suit hire at Greenwoods Menswear.

Quangos have reportedly spent more than 3,000 pounds on skiing and skiwear in just three years.

The Government Offices for the Regions were established around the country to help co-ordinate the work of government departments, but they were criticised for becoming bloated and adding to regional bureaucracy, interfering with the roles of councils.

The Local Government Secretary, Eric Pickles, who abolished the quangos earlier this year, said: "Labour maxed out the nation's credit card, and it turns out that their quangos were at it too."

'The Government Offices for the Regions, John Prescott's unelected regional quangos, have now been exposed for the most extravagant array of wasteful spending. By using taxpayers' money at a ski resort, on video games and sipping rum, they have further justified our decision to abolish them," he added. (ANI)