THE house in which we live is in Band 'C' in Ryedale District Council. It has two bedrooms, one bathroom, one sitting room, a kitchen and larder.

In 1997 the council tax was £570.86, in 2003 it was £994.04, an increase of 74 per cent.

The council tax for 2003/4 is made up as follows: Ryedale District Council £129 - no increase; N Yorks Police £138.68 - up 76 per cent; N Yorkshire County Council £726.33 - up 11.5 per cent; a total of £994.08 - up 15.7 per cent.

In the same period 1997-2003, my income consisting of state pension and 11 hours per week wage for part-time work, has increased by 14 per cent - 60 per cent less than council tax.

For a council tax of £994, I receive the following services: one wheelie bin emptied once per week; mobile library van once every three weeks; police - a vehicle four or five times per year; road maintenance, derisory, there are better farm tracks than many of the roads in Ryedale and N Yorkshire; senior citizen travel tokens - useless - no buses; annual parking permits for Ryedale car parks in exchange for tokens - withdrawn.

It was said on Prime Minister's Question Time last week that the average council tax in England from 1997/2003 had risen by 45 per cent. So what justification is there for our 74 per cent rise?

J P Unsworth,

Bossall, York.

Updated: 10:33 Tuesday, March 11, 2003