A NORTH Yorkshire council is switching back to its old phone number to make calls cheaper for residents.

Hambleton District Council is phasing out its 0845 1211 555 number and asking people to only call the authority on 01609 779977. The 0845 number was introduced in 2004 to allow residents to ring on the local rate, but the growth of mobile phone usage - with many phones not including 0845 in inclusive call allowances - has made many calls more expensive.

Cllr Nigel Knapton, portfolio holder for customer services, said: “There are a number of reasons to justify this change, but the main reason is that we are making it cheaper for customers to contact us.”

New laws being introduced in June state people should not be forced to pay extra for trying to rectify problems which are not their fault, and callers should not pay high charges for “core public services”.