BROMSGROVE District Council has written off £300,000 owed by residents and firms who failed to pay their poll tax and business rate bills.

The authority has had to abandon hope of recovering the cash, some of which has been owed since 1992.

This is because, in many cases, the six year recovery time limit had expired and in others it was impossible to track down debtors.

Urged by its auditors to recover the outstanding money, the council engaged a private debt collection firm.

However, it was dismissed when the council began getting complaints about heavy-handed recovery methods.

The firm had written to some residents demanding payment even though it later transpired the bill had been paid

The council puts some of the blame for the huge debt on the previous Labour administration, which they claim was slow to act in many cases.

At a meeting of Bromsgrove District Council Cllr Colin Brooks (Lab, Charford) asked the council to apologise to residents who because of "unprofessional behaviour" had been erroneously sent demands.

Cllr Dr Margaret Oliver (Con, Hagley) who chairs the finance committee, said the council had apologised where a genuine mistake had been made.

The council voted not to issue a blanket apology.