HUNDREDS of people will face heartache if the Government goes ahead with plans to slash council tax benefits to owners of empty properties, Burnley MP Peter Pike claimed today.

Until now, people owning more than one home have paid 50 per cent of council tax on their second property.

But under Government plans, discount could be slashed to 10 per cent, with the extra cash being pooled by Whitehall and redistributed to local authorities.

For long-term empty properties the full charge will be payable.

It is estimated that, if fully implemented, the move could raise up to £5million for North West councils.

The plan is designed to help authorities like Burnley, where there are up to 4,000 empty homes, and the Ribble Valley, where a growing number of houses are being bought as holiday homes.

But Mr Pike said the plans would create more problems.

A report produced by Burnley Council and considered by members of external relations committee last night, described the proposals as 'attractive'.

Council leader Stuart Caddy said: "We will have to look very carefully at the proposals when they have been discussed by Government and should take every case on its merits."

Mr Pike said: "I don't think this would help the problem the town has. Most people who own empty properties are not hoarding them or leaving them vacant because they do not want to pay for improvements, they are empty because they simply cannot sell them and they have had to move on to other areas.

"For those hundreds of people who are stuck with negative equity these proposals would simply cause further heartache."

The suggestion is one of a range of measures being brought in to tackle the problem of empty homes in the town.

Last year a new team was set up to tackle arsonists by clamping down on rogue landlords and homeowners who leave empty houses to rot.

The move came after the Task Force inquiry into the town's riots urged Burnley Borough Council to tackle the issue of fires in empty properties.

The proposed changes to the council tax for empty properties will go to the House of Lords later this month with new regulations likely to come into force in April 2004.