A Ledbury pensioner is calling for a mass Council Tax boycott, describing it as a "poverty trap" for older people.

Michael Jolley, 74, is also launching a local branch of the new Hereford Against Council Tax group, which is linked to the national 'Is it Fair' campaign. He will be pressing for the abolition of the tax in its current form.

Mr Jolley, of Worcester Road, has been stung into action by this year's 8.9 per cent increase agreed by Herefordshire Council on Friday.

He is inviting Ledbury people to get in touch to see what support there would be for a mass refusal to pay.

He said: "If 1,000 households in Ledbury say we can't pay, we can't be moved.

"We are looking for members, not just pensioners. It's affecting everyone.

"If I live for another ten years, I will be bankrupt and so we all will be. This is not a political issue, it's a social justice issue. We are all getting clobbered with a second tax and one we never voted for. It is a poverty trap for pensioners."

The Hereford Against Council Tax group will be officially launched at a meeting this weekend. The Ledbury branch will follow shortly afterwards. Mr Jolley has already been in contact with protesters in Tenbury Wells for advice.

He suggested that a fairer arrangement would be to pay last year's demand, plus the rate of inflation.

Mr Jolley lives in a Band F property and his Herefordshire Council bill has risen from £716.65 in 1993/1994 to the £1,753.91 this year.

Don Rule, a Herefordshire councillor for Ledbury and a member of the ruling cabinet, said this year's rise could have been as high as 12 per cent and that cuts had been made.

The cabinet recommended an increase of 10.4 per cent and the smaller rise of 8.9 per cent finally agreed means that savings of £860,000 will have to be made, although budget allocations for education and social care will remain unchanged.

Coun Rule said a planned £250,000 upgrade of the council's computer system would now be put on hold.

The Government has warned councils that any rise much above five per cent could be capped.

Council leader Roger Phillips said: "Although the rise has been curbed to 8.9 per cent, this is still a higher level than we would have liked and we're acutely aware of the hardship this will cause to some residents, particularly those on fixed incomes."

Mr Jolley can be contacted on jandmjolley@onetel.com or 01531 636064.