HEATING bills for up to 1,000 Bolton pensioners could leap as part of a massive programme of council price rises and cutbacks in services.

The cost of keeping warm, getting married, and being buried are all set to rise in April as town hall bosses attempt to put a lid on spiralling council tax bills.

Around 1,000 old folk -- many living in sheltered accommodation who pay the local authority for heating their homes -- would be hit. Council chiefs are considering raising charges by 19 per cent from April and then by a further 22 per cent in each of the following two years. The move would see bills rise by up to £131 a year by 2006. Even public Christmas trees could fail to appear in town centres next year after many departmental heads were ordered to slash their spending by two per cent and find new ways of covering rising costs.

Labour leaders are hoping that cuts of £5 million off the Council's total budget of £306 million will help to keep the council tax rise down to six per cent.

But leading Conservative Cllr John Walsh condemned the move to peg the council tax rise as an "election ploy" ahead of June's council elections. Other cutbacks under consideration include abolishing the neighbourhood warden service; reducing waste collections; and introducing charges for new and replacement wheelie bins.

Fees for pest control and pollution services could also rise and talks have also taken place to reduce the highways maintenance budget by around £450,000.

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The only departments not ordered to make the cuts are eduction and social services.

But social services boss Cllr Madeline Murray may still have to slash £3.5 million worth of services to cover the cost of new growth in her department.

Gareth Evans, chief officer for Age Concern, Bolton, he was "extremely concerned" by the move to increase the cost of heating.

He said: "Lots of people are very afraid of the size of heating bills already."

Council leader, Cllr Bob Howarth, said: "There are things the council is expected to do and we have to find ways of paying for them. We are putting considerable amounts of money into education and these are the tough decisions we are facing."

A six per cent increase in council tax would see the bill for an average band D property rise by £66.88 to £1,181.57.

The recommendations being considered by executive members will all have to be approved in February.

Cllr Barbara Ronson, leader of the Liberal Democrats, claimed Labour's policy amounted to "robbing Peter to pay Paul".

She said: "Labour are trying to keep down council tax while taking back the money with the other hand.

"My main concern is that services have been run down so much over the years that the idea of cutting them further doesn't bear thinking about."

And Tory leader, Cllr Alan Rushton, warned: "If these cuts are not carried out sensitively then there is cause for concern."

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