A pensioner has said he is not worried about being sent to prison over his refusal to pay a council tax increase. Retired aircraft engineer Peter Porter is refusing to pay the increase because it is greater than the rise in his pension.
The 70-year-old should be paying a 14% increase on his council tax bill from Poole Borough Council.
Instead, the widower has amended his direct debit to 2.6% - the same percentage as pensions have risen.
 |  Prison does not worry me. I'm just standing up for my rights.  |
Mr Porter, of Hawkchurch Gardens, Canford Heath, Dorset, said: "Pensioners are being robbed from both ends. We are simply getting poorer and poorer. "We are a country that is proud of our heritage and proud of our sense of fair play but this simply isn't fair."
Mr Porter has been summoned to appear at East Dorset Magistrates' Court on 30 July for a civil hearing brought by the council.
The council is demanding Mr Porter pay the remaining balance of his council tax, to the sum of �484.63, because the payments made so far have been short.
But Mr Porter said: "I'm in no mood to back down. Prison does not worry me. I'm just standing up for my rights."
Councillor Neil Sorton, the council's portfolio holder for resources, said: "Everyone has a statutory right to pay their council tax in ten instalments throughout the year.
"If payments are not made in full for whatever reason, the council is duty-bound to commence action to recover any outstanding balances."
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