WORCESTER residents will no longer be able to pay their council tax over the counter from June, as the city council cuts costs by replacing human cashiers with machines.

More than 1,500 people walk in to the council's customer service centre on Farrier Street each week to pay council tax, business rates, parking fines and other fees in person.

But the cash-strapped council reckons it can save £30,000 a year by replacing its cashiers with two automated paying-in machines, similar to those found in many high-street banks.

All the service centre staff will be retained, focusing instead on offering advice and answering queries - as well as helping people use the new machines.

The council insists the modernisation will ultimately bring benefits for customers too, with queueing times likely to be cut.

Tory council leader Councillor Simon Geraghty told a meeting of the budget scrutiny committee that while he recognised cashiers provide a valuable point of human contact, this was simply a service the council can no longer afford.

"Lots of people like to come in and have a chat," Coun Geraghty said.

"That's a great social service, but it has quite a considerable cost to the council. It's how we encourage those people to pay their bills in a more sustainable way.

"Many other organisations, such as post offices, have found there are more efficient ways of doing this."

The vast majority of Worcester people now pay their council tax by direct debit, or over the telephone. However, the customer service centre still deals with 90,000 over-the-counter transactions each year.

But from June, anybody trying to make payments in person will be directed to one of the new £15,000 paying-in machines, which accept cash or debit card, and even give change.

The cabinet member in charge of customer care, Coun David Clark, said the council would do all it could to avoid potential pitfalls.

"Coming in and making these payments is one way to get elderly people out of their houses," he said.

"They need that activity. For some people, if they didn't have that it would be a retrograde step - we're taking all that into account."

And Coun Geraghty made it clear that help would be available for anybody needing it.

"Certainly there will be support on hand, particularly during the transitional stage," he said. "But there will always be a human element.

"This is something we were committed to doing anyway, when the centre moves into the new library.

"I'm sure we can do it in a way that enhances the customer experience."