UK town councils get weird FOI queries on ghosts, dragons

LONDON  — Is your town safe from dragon attack? Inquiring minds want to know.

A list of the top 10 strangest questions posed by Freedom of Information Act petitioners has been published Saturday by England’s Local Government Association.

The group, which represents more than 350 councils, asked the public not to burden its staff with questions deemed “vexatious,” a.k.a. ridiculous.

Rossendale Council was asked to detail its employment of exorcists and faith healers. Worthing Council was asked to explain its emergency plans for meteor strikes and solar flares. Birmingham was asked to reveal how many requests it’s had to screen public buildings for ghosts.

And there be dragons in northwest England, apparently. One fact-seeker asked Wigan Council: “What plans are in place to protect the town from a dragon attack?”