THE CAPITAL of the US state of New Jersey has narrowly averted an unusual crisis – after the city seemed set to run out of toilet paper.

A political wrangle between the city’s mayor Tony Mack and his city council over a tender received for the city’s stash of paper products – worth some $46,000 – had meant that the city’s public buildings are about to run short.

It wasn’t the toilet roll itself that has caused the difficulty, however, but rather the inclusion of what councillors deemed an unacceptably high order of paper cups, costing $4,000.

One member of the council told Philadelphia’s 6ABC news that he wanted to know: “‘What you are doing with $4,000 worth of paper cups?’

“They got caught,” he said. “We wanted to know what you’re going to do with them and when they failed to give us an answer, we denied their approval.”

The shortage even threatened to leave the city’s police stations without toilet paper – but the crisis was averted just as the city was getting to its last sheets, thanks to a donation from the PETA group.

Reuters said the group handed over a six-month supply of toilet paper emblazoned with animal rights and vegetarian slogans, such as:

Slaughterhouses are so filthy that more than half of all meat is contaminated with fecal bacteria.

The Reuters report said the dispute had also been partially resolved when the city council agreed to an emergency $16,000 payment to stock up on more toilet roll.

PETA isn’t the only group to have spotted a promotional opportunity: an Arkansas-based bathroom supplies company also offered a donation to help the city through its turmoil.

Mack accepted a one-month donation from them this morning, with the supplies company saying they wanted to spare Trenton workers the horror of finding themselves in the toilet without any paper.

The ongoing Budget deadlock remains in place, however, as city councillors now say they are forbidden from reconsidering a contract they have already rejected.

They want the company, Amsan, to rebid for the contract – and, presumably, cut the cost of their paper cups.