The rate of inflation may have hit a 50-year low. But the news doesn’t seem to have reached town councillors in Ferndown who have voted through an 11.4 per cent hike in its share of the council tax.

One resident described the rise as a “mismanage-ment of funds” that would further penalise recession-hit residents.

Band D householders in Ferndown pay £1,551.76 a year in council tax, with £1,134.54 to Dorset County Council, £186.27 to East Dorset District Council, and £37.96 to Ferndown Town Council.

Resident Robert Holness, a customs officer whose wife was made redundant three weeks ago, said the rise was disproportionate with other components of his council tax bill.

“Surely the rise should be similar across the councils. If Dorset County Council needs to increase its bill by 3.5 per cent, why does the town council need an extra 11 per cent?” said Mr Holness.

But Cllr Queenie Comfort,chairman of the town council’s finance and general purposes committee, said the increase was justified.

“We have taken on a lengthsman who serves the whole of Ferndown. While his salary is recurring, the cost of his van and tools are one-offs,” she said. “We have also put up lights in Victoria Road, and again, apart from a little bit of maintenance, they will also be a one-off cost.

“The council tax didn’t go up at all last year – in fact, it went down by 0.46 per cent. If you divide the rise over two years, it isn’t so great.”

The finance committee’s deputy chairman, Cllr Malcolm Birr, said he had been “nabbed in the street” by unhappy residents.

“I wasn’t at the meeting that voted on the rise, but I would have opposed it. I don’t think due diligence was placed on the increase throughout the year. I think we should have used the reserves to keep the increase to about seven per cent.”