Residents in Oxfordshire are facing massive increases in their council tax bills from April.

Oxford City Council has limited its increase for 2003/4 to just four per cent. The Vale of White Horse District Council has limited its increase to six per cent, 0.5 per cent lower than this year's increase, and the south Oxfordshire rise is six per cent, comparable with this year's increase.

But West Oxfordshire District Council's rose by 50 per cent and Cherwell District Council is demanding an increase of 29.9 per cent for 2003/4, compared to this year's rise of six per cent.

Despite the regional variations, the bulk of the bill is made up by demands from the county council, which is going up 13.4 per cent. Band D demands across the county are all more than £1,000.

The demand from the Thames Valley Police Authority has also increased by 45 per cent.

At the Oxford City Council meeting on March 3, Bill Baker, deputy leader of the city council, said he hoped residents would not blame the city council for the huge increases in demands from the county council and police.

County council leaders said the increase was due to the Government shifting money from the South to the North and Midlands, cutting grants previously paid to schools, and imposing new duties without extra funding.

The 13.4 per cent rise is just above the average for England and Wales of 12.8 per cent, according to the latest survey, and the second lowest in the South East.

East Sussex is setting the highest increase with 19.6 per cent, while Kent is setting the lowest at 12.5 per cent.

Keith Mitchell, leader of Conservative-Liberal Democrat-run Oxfordshire County Council, said he was aware the 13.4 per cent increase was a high rise.

He added: "I am not surprised to see a succession of letters to our local newspapers complaining.

"We have done well to restrict our council tax rise to 13.4 per cent, as residents will see when they compare that to some of our neighbours in the South East.

"We hope that residents will join us in campaigning to make sure the Government gives us a fairer funding deal next year."

Council tax bills are four bills combined into one, with the amount you pay shared out among up to four providers of local services.

These are the county council, the district council, Thames Valley Police, and the town or parish council.

For example, an average band D property in Oxford would pay £870.41 to the county council, £106.24 to Thames Valley Police and £207.64 to the city council, with a total bill of £1,184.29.

The £207.64 average figure takes into account parish precepts and the non-parished areas of the city.

The four parished areas are: Littlemore, Old Marston, Risinghurst and Sandhills and Blackbird Leys, with the remainder of the city unparished.