A former chef is facing Court action over a £529 bill from Bradford Council, which installed about 15ft of plastic waste pipe at his home.

Michael Henry was staggered when he received the bill after a plumber estimated the job should have cost about £50.

Mr Henry, 61, of Clapham Street, Denholme, who exists on £149 a fortnight income support, has been attempting to pay off the bill at £10 a week.

But every day that he delays payment, City Hall beaurocrats are knocking up the interest.

And now they have presented him with a County Court summons and possible costs of £110.

The Council carried out the job of re-directing his sink waste pipe at his 100-year-old home after his own plumber said he would not be able to do the job straight away.

"I was told, completely out of the blue, that the drain needed moving. It originally went under the house that backs on to mine and into a surface drain. It has always been like that.

"It had to be moved to an underground drain at the side of the house, so a pipe needed fitting along the inside of my living room wall and out to the drain.

"It took their plumber about an hour to put the pipe in. He went away for two hours because he forgot a part and then he came back to finish the job.

"I was absolutely staggered when I got the bill for £529.21p. It's crazy. How can anything that took only a morning at the most cost so much?"

Mr Henry attempted to pay off the demand at £10 a week but then received the notice of court action if the balance is not paid by Monday.

"But I was told by a friend who is in business that I shouldn't have paid anything and that the bill was extortionate," Mr Henry added.

A Bradford Council Environmental Protection spokesman said the drain was discharging illegally to a surface water drain.

Notice was served on Mr Henry to get the job done in 21 days, warning him that if it was not completed the Council would carry out the work and charge the officers' time.

"We made several visits before we were able to gain entrance to the house and carry out the work and all this had to be charged to the owner.

"If he had carried out the work himself, his costs would have been substantially less," he said.