Council tax bills in the South Hams are to go up by 4.7 per cent, the South Hams District Council (SHDC) has announced.

The increase in the district means the bill for an average Band D property in the South Hams will be £1,379 a year.

The rise was approved at a meeting on Thursday 25 January.

Initial estimates suggested that an increase in council tax of 7 per cent might have been required to meet a budget gap of £650,000 for 2007/08.

Of the overall council tax bill, the Devon County Council receives 74 per cent of it, followed by the Devon and Cornwall Police Authority (10 per cent), SHDC (9 per cent), Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority (5 per cent) and town and parish councils (2 per cent).

The SHDC charges the third-lowest council tax of district councils in Devon and Cornwall.

This year's bill is also £21 lower than the national average for district councils.