Contractors put in a bill of more than £1,000 to renew a plastic gutter, which a councillor says could have been done for a fraction of the cost.

Half the money was charged to leaseholder Pamela Fairhall who lives in the flats above shops in Cowley Drive, Woodingdean.

Now Tory councillor Geoff Wells is taking up the issue with Brighton and Hove City Council and the district auditor.

He said: "These prices are phenomenally high and I feel the council is not getting value for money.

"Leaseholders are being ripped off because the council is passing on the costs to them. It is just not on and must be investigated."

The £1,005.20p job was to renew a 45-metre length of guttering.

A ball valve replacement to a council-owned flat next door was repaired for £46.20 and Ms Fairhall was asked to pay half that sum because it was in a loft above a shared staircase.

Coun Wells also queried a charge of £38.08 to renew a fluorescent tube. He said they normally cost about £1 each.

The council said it levied the charges under the standard schedule of rates for contractors.

Part of the lease for Ms Fairhall included a clause saying she paid a service charge amounting to half the cost of the spending.

Coun Wells is asking for the fixed charges agreed between the council and contractors to be reviewed.

He said: "The charges for external plumbing work are beyond belief. It is costing more than £300 to clear 60ft of gutter.

"The council is asking £193.05 to renew a length of plastic pipe when the cost of materials would be about £13.

"It is charging £65.20 to replace one rainwater pipe bracket, which would cost about £1.40."

Coun Wells, a plumber himself, said: "I have surveyed the work done and estimate that I, in my old age, could easily have done this amount of work in a day.

"How can the council be allowed to charge such phenomenal costs and expect a leaseholder to foot half that bill? In this case, she can ill afford it."

Miss Fairhall, a 59-year-old temporary learning support assistant at Rudyard Kipling School, said she had been at the flat for almost two years.

She said: "It will take a long time to pay this money. I do understand leaseholders pay half the cost but this does seem to be rather a lot.

"I pay £30 a month in maintenance and now I have been landed with a big bill."

A city council spokeswoman said: "We will respond to Councillor Wells's letter and look into his concerns.

"I have looked at the invoices from the contractors and they are charged according to the council's standard schedule of rates."