SOCIAL services chiefs have admitted they "went too far" when they more than doubled day centre charges for people with learning disabilities in York.

They have now pledged to rethink the charges following complaints and a petition from people who use the facilities.

City of York Council's social services committee chairman, Bob Fletcher, and assistant director of community care Roger Grey met more than 20 adults with learning disabilities at Queen Anne School yesterday to hear their concerns.

They were told the price hike - up from 60p a day to £1.50 - for the use of the day centres was "wrong" and "unfair" and meant that users had less cash to spend on other activities.

Many of those present had a weekly allowance of about £15.

John Hanley, chairman of self-advocacy group People First, said that none of his members were happy about the increase.

Mr Fletcher accepted there had been a "very big increase" in charges and said he would go away and look at them again.

He said: "It is clear that we have gone too far with this charge for our customers - if you cannot pay we won't get the money anyway.

"We will look at something fairer and something you can afford and come back to you by the end of next week."

Mr Fletcher said the price for day centre attendance had been raised following complaints from representatives for the elderly in York.

They were concerned that the elderly were paying more than people with learning disabilities for the same services at day centres.

"The difficulty is deciding how much you should pay and how much other people should pay for these expensive services," said Mr Fletcher.

He added that the council was trying to strike a balance between providing services and making sure service users had the funds to take part in other activities of their choice.

"We seem to have judged it wrong for some customers.

"But we are quite prepared to look at it again if it is a problem for some of you," he said.