The parents of Zoe Fairley, who died more than five years ago, today hit out at City of York Council's finance department for failing to change the way it treated recently-bereaved families.

Zoe was 21 when she died after four care workers used the "prone restraint" procedure to hold her face down on the floor in September 1995 at the former Howe Hill Hostel.

An inquest in 1997 found she died accidentally.

Brian and Kathleen Fairley, of Chapelfields Road, Acomb, spoke out today after reading an article on Tuesday which told how Valerie and Allan Edgar received a bill following the death of their 33-year-old son, Martin.

Martin had cerebral palsy, so the Edgars received a reduction on their council tax bill while he was alive. After he died in February the reduction ceased and they received a bill to cover the difference from the day he died to the end of the financial year.

They complained to the council about the insensitivity and lack of explanation for the bill.

The Fairleys said they, too, had previously had a reduction on their council tax because of Zoe's disabilities and received a similar bill in February 1996.

Mrs Fairley said: "It upset us. We went through exactly the same thing. We were asked for £35.59 and we paid it."

She said her husband's late sister had complained to the council on their behalf and they had understood something was going to be done. "They haven't done anything about it since then and there might be other people this has happened to."

A council spokesperson said: "It appears that improvements that should have been made to the way we issue amended council tax bills after a complaint in 1996 were not implemented.

"The council is currently reviewing the way in which it communicates with residents and that will include how we send out bills, which will ensure that covering letters are included with any revised council tax bill to ensure this doesn't happen in the future."

Updated: 11:53 Thursday, April 12, 2001