SECURITY engineers brought in to switch off a nuisance alarm have hit back at the resident who complained at the "extortionate" cost - because they only charged £60.

Phil Wherrett, of Grove Fire and Security, said the fee was "good value" for the one-and-a-half hours' work it took to force open a window and turn off an internal sounding alarm.

He said the remaining £310 on the bill had been added by council officers - who charge £56.60 an hour - for legal work to get access to the Clementhorpe terraced home.

"The council can charge what they can get away with," he said. "I don't want to be seen to ripping people off. It's a very competitive market."

Resident Kenneth Eggleton, 66, of Lower Ebor Street, defiantly said today that he would not pay up until bailiffs came to his door.

He said: "It would've taken them five minutes to get in and switch the alarm off. The key was even in the box. It's the council that's ripping me off. It absolutely stinks."

The Evening Press reported earlier this week how the retired electrical engineer came home from an exotic one-month holiday to find a bill for almost £370 on his doormat.

Neighbours had complained about his burglar alarm in his absence, and council officers had served a legal notice on his house for it to be stopped.

They then sent in engineers, who forced their way in through a ground-floor window and turned off the alarm. They said it had been sounding continuously for more than six hours.

Mr Wherrett, who has run his Bishopthorpe-based home security firm for 12 years, said breaking into a house without causing unnecessary damage was skilled job.

He said he worked as a contractor for the council's environmental protection unit, but that jobs like this one were extremely rare. The last took place on Christmas Eve last year.

The total bill for the work included four-and-a-half hours of council officer time, at £56.60 an hour, labour at £60 and VAT.

A City of York Council spokeswoman said: "The cost accounts for the time officers have spent dealing with the incident, and makes sure that the cost does not go back to the taxpayer."

Updated: 10:03 Saturday, November 06, 2004