INFLATION-busting council tax rises averaging about £55 per household are being lined up for Worcester residents this year.

Your Worcester News can reveal the leaders of Worcestershire County Council and Worcester City Council are both planning to increase their council tax levels by 4.34 per cent in the coming financial year - well above the rate of inflation.

If the fire and police authorities raise their charges by similar amounts, as expected, the total bill for an average band D property in Worcester would be pushed up by an extra £56.90, to £1,367.86.

The planned rises are not yet set in stone. They must first be approved at full council meetings later this month.

It is the county council's planned rise which will hit households the hardest, as almost three-quarters of each council tax bill is set by that authority. Its planned rise makes up more than £40 of the total rise for a band D property.

The county's proposed budget will not actually be published until tomorrow, but Worcester City Council's comment yesterday that it plans "to match the county council's 4.34 rise" has effectively revealed County Hall's plans.

City council leader Councillor Simon Geraghty said: "We are planning to mirror the county's rise of 4.34 per cent.

"Given the financial situation facing the council, given the reductions and savings we are having to make following the Government cut in our funding, there are really only so many efficiencies we can squeeze out."

Coun Geraghty said a public consultation exercise showed Worcester people were prepared to pay a little extra on top of inflation to maintain service levels. The city council's tax hike will be the first time that authority has raised levels above the 2.5 per cent rate of inflation for several years.

However, as the city's charges make up just 11 per cent of each final bill, the increase only amounts to an extra £6.27 for a band D property to pay.