After inspiring British parents' choice of baby names, Game of Thrones now appears to have provoked public concern over the dangers posed by dragons. Staff at Wigan Council were asked to set out what preparations they had to protect the town in the event of an attack by the mythical creatures, which are enjoying a resurgence in popularity thanks to George RR Martin's novels.

The query topped a list of the most unusual requests made to councils in England and Wales under the Freedom of Information Act.

The list, drawn up by the Local Government Association (LGA), also includes a request to Worthing Council to explain what "precautions, preparations, planning and costings have been undertaken in the event that an asteroid crashes into Worthing". Meanwhile, Southend Council was asked how many children in care had been microchipped.

Councillor Peter Fleming, chairman of the LGA's Improvement Board, said: "While the majority of requests to councils are for details of council policy and expenditure, some of the FoI requests received do not relate very closely to the services they are focused on providing every day of the year."

Research by the Constitution Unit at the University College London found that councils received more than 197,000 Freedom of Information requests in 2010 at a cost of £31.7m. But the Campaign for Freedom of Information said it was a shame that the LGA highlighted only silly FOI requests and not those that illustrated the act's benefits.

The campaign's director, Maurice Frankel, said: "Some of the stories are idiotic, but they're irrelevant. How much time do you think an FOI officer is going to spend on a question about dragons? It's not a burden at all."

The top 10



1 What plans are in place to protect the town from a dragon attack? (Wigan Council)

2 Please list all the types of animals you have frozen since March 2012, including the type and quantity of each animal. (Cambridge City Council)

3 How many times has the council paid for the services of an exorcist, psychic or religious healer? Were the services performed on an adult, child, pet or building? (Rossendale Council)

4 Please can you let me know how many roundabouts are located within your council boundaries. (Leicestershire County Council)

5 What precautions, preparations, planning and costings have been undertaken in the event that an asteroid or meteorite crashes into Worthing, or solar activity disrupting electromagnetic fields? (Worthing Borough Council)

6 How many holes in privacy walls between cubicles have been found in public toilets and within council buildings in the last 10 years? (Rossendale Council)

7 How many bodies are there in mortuaries that have been unclaimed for 10 years? How long have these bodies been in the mortuary? How old were they when they died? Is it possible to have the names of these people? (Richmond Council)

8 How many people in the town have a licence to keep a tiger, lion, leopard, lynx or panther as a pet? (Scarborough Council)

9 How many requests were made to council-run historic public-access buildings (eg museums) requesting to bring a team of "ghost investigators" into the building? (Birmingham Council)

10 How many children in the care of the council have been micro-chipped? (Southend Council)