THE Halifax/Bank of Scotland (HBOS), Britain's biggest mortgage lender, was a beneficiary of a £11.5 billion ($27b) bailout by the government to get over the credit crisis.

But that didn't stop about 300 bank staff and 68 guests from lapping up a £330,000 ($778,000) 'champagne break'.

Not only did they indulge in such hard times, they are alleged to have laughed at hard-up borrowers facing repossession.

HBOS mortgage specialists were put up in five-star hotels for the lavish company bash on Friday night. The bill for the Annual Star Gala included £60,000 for hotel rooms, £200-a-head four-course meals, £45,000 in travel expenses and a £4,000 champagne reception, according to a report in the News of the World.

Comedian Patrick Kielty - who charges £20,000 a show - poked fun at their shameful excesses in the midst of Britain's credit crisis, vowing: 'Your secret is safe with me!'

A source was quoted by the News of the World as saying: 'There was absolutely no expense spared. We had the best of everything - great food, expensive wine, you name it.

'It's outrageous really, considering all the recent troubles at HBOS. We all had a good time though. We even got a day off work and got paid for it.'

HBOS is set to be taken over in a government-sanctioned multi-billion deal with Lloyds TSB.

The other extravagant spending included:

Luxury £100 goodie bags for every guest, and prizes of £1,000 to reward the work of 16 mortgage brokers over a year.

The weekend bash was held in Edinburgh, and employees from Belfast, Leeds and Sheffield all attended, the report said.

The staff and guests checked into city's top three hotels, The Balmoral, The Caledonian Hilton and The George.

At The Balmoral, rooms start at £215 per night and are favoured by celebrities such as George Clooney and Tom Hanks.

For lunch, the bankers enjoyed a feast of smoked salmon, foie gras pate and champagne. Goodie bags left in their rooms contained Moet & Chandon bubbly, leather-bound journals, chocolates and £10 Starbucks vouchers.

Gala dinner

For the main event on Friday evening, they were all taken by coach to the Prestonfield Hotel for their gala dinner.

Dinner tables, seating 10, were decorated with orchids and napkins crafted into swans. Pumpkin soup was followed by roast chicken, then profiteroles with chocolate sauce and cream. Our insider said: 'It was like a Roman feast - with enough booze to float a ship.

'They like to get you absolutely plastered at these events. On top of that, they gave us drink vouchers so we could hammer the free bar!'

The night ended at 1am when guests were ferried back to their hotels by coach.

A spokesman for the bank told News of The World that 'it was modest affair'.

'It's an event we hold every year to reward our star performers.'

Pressed on the cost, she said: 'It was a modest amount.'

In a statement later, HBOS said the bash was booked and paid for last year.