Pensioners are bracing themselves for a double whammy of service cuts and above-inflation tax increases in April.

Calculations by the Oxford Mail, based on published predictions by council finance chiefs, show average-sized households look like paying an extra £54 in council tax at a time when spending on key services is pruned.

And last night, some pensioners, who said their savings were dwindling away because of year-on-year rate rises, said they deserved better treatment.

An average band D homeowner living in Old Marston, Oxford, can expect to pay £1,506 from April - an increase of £54.05 or 3.7 per cent on this year's £1,451.95 bill.

Pensioner Bill Jupp, 76, and his wife Barbara, 72, of Arlington Drive, Old Marston, receive a combined £139 a week in state pensions - just above the accepted poverty line of £135.

Mr Jupp, who campaigns for better pensioners' rights, said: "It's not just a question of council tax going up, it's also about service cuts.

"Services they cut back on are going to affect the most elderly and vulnerable in society.

"There will come a time soon when the question will not be 'we won't pay', it will be 'we can't pay'.

"A lot of pensioners who value their independence and have saved have been penalised and are seeing their savings slowly dwindling away."

The final bill for 2008/09 will not be settled until well into the New Year, and could be even more than current projections.

These are based on a predicted four per cent increase in Oxfordshire County Council's element of the bill, a two per cent rise in Oxford City Council's element and a 4.9 per cent increase in the Thames Valley Police precept.

This week, County Hall warned of possible cuts to services almost immediately after the authority was given £102.9m to fund services in 2008/09 - a two per cent year-on-year rise which a spokesman said would leave it "stretched".

Oxford City Council was given £16.4m, a 1.9 per cent increase.

When the Conservatives took control of County Hall in 2005, they promised year-on-year decreases in council tax rises with no cuts to services.

County councillor Charles Shouler, the man in charge of setting the budget, said: "In effect, this is a drop in funding. We have above-inflation pressures, due to increasing numbers of old and disabled people and the need to dispose of waste properly."

Pensioner Michael Hugh-Jones, 79, of Headley Way, Headington, added: "I do think council tax is high, but personally I am prepared to pay extra, provided it is spent on something useful.

"I am very definitely against cuts in services for the elderly, who are the most vulnerable."

Katie Acheson, 28, a nurse at Oxford's Churchill Hospital, believes she will be badly hit by the tax rise.

She has been qualified for four years and earns £20,801.

Ms Acheson lives with her boyfriend in a two-bedroom rented flat in Aston Street, Oxford, and pays £850 per month.

She said: "Every month, all my money is gone because I earn a pittance and have huge outgoings. The chances of me getting on the housing ladder are non-existent - even with the key worker scheme.

"The cost of living goes up four per cent each year and we received a two per cent pay rise.

"It is just not going up in relation to costs.

"I have always done nursing.

"I enjoy caring for other people and it is rewarding, but we certainly do not receive any financial rewards.

"We don't even receive any assistance despite living in Oxford, which is one of the most expensive places to live in the south east.

"All my friends receive London weighting, even though it costs me just as much to live here."