RESIDENTS are paying twice for the same service and Wyre Forest District Council "couldn't care less" about it according to the leader of Stourport Town Council.

Labour councillor Reg Knott claims the council is united in lobbying the district for the return of £18,000 a year ahead of Wyre Forest's April budget.

But he fears there is little chance of securing the sum - which he says has been owed to the town every year since 1984 - in the light of the district's current £2 million deficit.

The roots of the dispute go back to the 1974 local government re-organisation which created Wyre Forest.

"Stourport decided it wanted to run their own parks and gardens so the money was raised by a precept levied by the town," he explained.

"Wyre Forest also collects money for park maintenance even though they don't do anything but until 1984, when they found a loophole, they paid it back.

"It's not fair and a lot of people are very annoyed about it."

And Mr Knott, of Redstone Lane, Areley Kings, attacked some Stourport district councillors for not supporting the "cross-party" campaign to secure the money.

"How can they represent Stourport if they don't stick up for the town?"

But district councillor John Gordon who represents Lickhill said: "In principle Stourport should get money back, but given the budget problems it's not possible.

"It's coming up to election time and I think this is a piece of electioneering by some Labour councillors."

And he added: "My record for Stourport stands against anybody's."

Wyre Forest District Council leader Mike Oborski said the district had not been approached over the issue. "They haven't raised it with the portfolio holder, and in budgetary terms they couldn't have picked a worse year.

"It's a situation that Stourport got itself into.

"The government originally gave us money back towards parish rates but that stopped and in 1993 the district stopped paying a rebate."