WEST Oxfordshire District Council is to increase charges for some services by as much as 10 per cent because of the gloomy financial outlook.

Residents and businesses will pay more for services such as the removal of furniture, fridges and other bulky household and commercial waste.

The increases will also apply to pest control, land charges and building control fees.

The cabinet has agreed the rises, to come in next year, as part of a review of its 10-year financial strategy.

It has also set itself an ongoing programme of efficiency savings without cuts in services.

Frank Wilson, strategic director of resources, said: "There is increasing pressure on our budgets. Undoubtedly, there's an impact on us as well as everyone else from the financial markets and state of the economy."

With interest rates predicted to fall by the end of the year, the council will also receive less income from its £60m invested with banks.

Earlier this year, it moved into the property market by buying a three-storey office block in Between Towns Road, Cowley, Oxford, for £5.5m to diminish dependence on fluctuating money markets.

The cabinet has left open-ended whether it will set a council tax within the Government's five per cent cap.