Fees charged for pest control in Richmondshire could be deterring people from reporting their concerns, it has been claimed.

Tomorrow, the district council will be urged to abolish them.

Catterick Village councillor Tony Pelton says he knows of two occasions when public-spirited residents have called in the exterminators.

One man found a wasps' nest in his garden and was worried the insects may sting children playing in the park next to his property.

Richmondshire District Council responded, the environmental health department sending an expert to deal with the wasps.

However, the resident who reported the problem was then stung himself - by a bill for £18.50 plus VAT.

A Catterick parish councillor was also asked to pay the same amount after reporting he had seen rats running around on the banks of the stream which runs through the village.

Once again, a pest control team was sent out to deal with the problem and the fee was requested from the person who reported the vermin - even though they were not on his land.

The parish council took up the issue on his behalf, but Mr Pelton claims the village authority was simply told the charges are standard policy.

As a result, Mr Pelton intends to press Richmondshire District Council's environmental health committee to abolish the charges when it meets tomorrow night.

"I believe it is a mistake to create a disincentive for reporting this sort of thing.

"In the end, we could be risking a bigger vermin population as people are likely to hesitate over calling in the environmental health department if they think they are going to get a bill," he said.

However, a report compiled for tomorrow's meeting points out that abolishing the fees would leave the district council out of pocket.

Income from the charges during the 2000-01 financial year totalled £62,000, even though bills for the control of rats and mice on domestic premises were only introduced in January this year