JUST months after breaking out the bubbly to celebrate a county promise to invest millions into the now-closed Rolle College, the bubbly went flat this week as council bosses refused to stump up the cash.

JUST months after breaking out the bubbly to celebrate a county promise to invest millions into the now-closed Rolle College, the bubbly went flat this week as council bosses refused to stump up the cash.

In April, following Whitehall ministerial talks, Devon County Council had earmarked up to �3 million to purchase the campus for use as post-16 educational college.

A consortium, including the heads of Exeter and Exmouth Community Colleges, Exmouth college governors and MP Hugo Swire, had worked to secure the site for the town and surrounding area.

But members of the Conservative-run council's executive on Tuesday pulled the plug after leader Cllr John Hart branded the scheme a 'white elephant'.