Ali G's 'town' is Mauritius twin

Sacha Baron Cohen's Ali G was set in the 'Staines Ghetto', far from Mauritius

A London suburb lampooned by comic character Ali G is to be twinned with the tropical island of Mauritius.

Spelthorne Borough Council in west London, whose mayor is originally from the Indian Ocean island, has approved the proposal.

However, council critics say the move could prove to be a "waste of money" and "valuable" council time.

Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen used Staines, which is in Spelthorne, as the home of Ali G.

Spelthorne - and the "Staines Ghetto" of the popular television series - is more than 6,000 miles (9,656km) away from the island and is already twinned with Melun, in northern France.

'Not affordable'

Laurie Burrel, a Conservative county councillor, labelled the move "a complete waste of money".

"My thoughts are how is this going to be funded?," he said.

"We keep cutting the budget for Melun and saying we can't afford it, yet now we are looking at another twin."

But Spelthorne Mayor Simon Bhadye, who was born in Mauritius but has lived in Britain for more than 40 years, said the small island does have ideas to share with the borough.

"None of the supermarkets in Mauritius give out plastic bags," he said. "They have been doing that since 2000."

The idea came from the island's high commissioner and Mr Bhadye said there would be no financial cost to Spelthorne.

"The only cost will be in officers' time dealing with the paperwork," Mr Bhadye said.