Wiltshire Council chief executive Andrew Kerr will leave his post quickly if councillors decide he has to go later this month.

Mr Kerr was warned last Wednesday that he faces redundancy in council leader Jane Scott’s latest shake-up to save another £500,000.

The £189,000-a-year chief has put forward a last ditch attempt to save his job by proposing an alternative plan which involves cutting administrative costs at County Hall, an idea that would save his job but potentially put other people’s at risk.

The 52-year-old said: “I perceive that it would be more helpful for the council and for myself if I were to go reasonably quickly if that is the decision that is made.

“I would prefer to stay here but I think the administration are pushing forward their case.”

A final decision about his job, and that of one of four corporate directors who work beneath Mr Kerr, will be made on September 26.

Reflecting on the moment he was told he could be set to lose his job, Mr Kerr, who is responsible for a £800m budget, said: “The leader came into the office to tell me it was one of the considerations. It came out of the blue and so I told her I was surprised and would have to go away and think about what they had said.”

Mr Kerr said he would not leave Wiltshire immediately, having just bought a house in Neston, but would eventually seek re-employment in local government, a field he started out in around 25 years ago.