Pensioners Kathleen Higgins and Maureen Cummings could not believe their ears when they rang the council to collect some garden waste.

They had paid a local man £34 to tidy up a communal grassed area outside a block of flats belonging to Selby District Council, which they claimed the council had repeatedly "missed".

They then phoned the Civic Centre where officials said they would arrange for the garden waste to be collected - at a cost of £27.50.

Widower Mrs Higgins, 78, of Rosemary Court, Tadcaster, said: "We are tucked a bit out of the way and the grassed area outside our flats has been repeatedly missed by the council's contractors.

"Two of us clubbed together and paid for someone to do it and then, with the help of Mrs Cummings' daughter, we bagged all the rubbish up.

"We pay £54 a week rent to the council, plus council tax, and to be told it would cost us £27.50 to remove the waste was a bit below the belt.

"We couldn't believe what we were hearing."

District councillor Chris Metcalfe said: "I have reported the situation repeatedly to the council. The work has then been done, only for it to happen again.

"In desperation these pensioners paid out of their own pockets for work that should have been done by the council.

"For the council to then have the audacity to ask for £27.50 to remove the waste is beyond the pale - I'm disgusted."

He added: "Once again the people of Tadcaster are getting a shoddy, second-class service from the district council."

The council's chief housing officer, Steve Martin, said he would be discussing the matter with the contractors.

He said: "The ladies were quoted the standard charge of £27.50 for us to remove garden rubbish, but it wasn't made clear to staff all the circumstances.

"The waste will now be removed at no charge and we will also reimburse the £34 they paid for their own gardener."

Updated: 13:10 Thursday, June 07, 2001