A PARISH council has received an £1,191.19 electricity bill for the small room it uses once a month.

The sum made members of Middleton St George Parish Council gulp when clerk Mike Taylor announced the estimated usage for its boardroom in the Water Park. The council did not meet at all during August.

Mr Taylor told the D&S Times: "We don't boil a kettle or use power tools. We have lighting and an electric oil heater, but it has not been used this summer.. Our bill for the year in 2001 was £75.89 and in 2002 it was £76.09."

A spokeswoman for npower said a new bill would be sent out according to the actual reading. The council had been estimated as though it was a business.

* Council report: page 8.