OLD people in Lancaster and Morecambe received a nasty shock last week when a county council letter hit their door mats - it stated they would have an 80 per cent increase to pay for home helps.

The elderly will have to pay £9 per hour instead of £5 for their carers if they have more than £16,000 savings.

One female carer commented: "Anything which makes life harder for the people we look after is just wrong. This is a hell of an increase and I'm just scared that it will put off some of the old people who need us." A spokesman for the county council said: "Charges for Home Care Services have not increased since July 1995, but the increasing demand for community care services has made it necessary for charges to increase. There will be a range of charges to people receiving home care from a minimum charge of £2 a week up the maximum charge of £9 per hour for those people with savings greater than £16,000. This maximum charge covers the full cost of delivering home care services. Some 50 per cent of all service users will pay the minimum charge."

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