LOW-INCOME families are to be hit hard as residents in Basingstoke brace themselves for a large council tax hike.

Council taxpayers already forking out £785 a year to live in Basingstoke could soon be asked to pay an extra £40.

People in the borough are likely to face an increase in their council tax bills of at least eight per cent from next April.

Linda Fox, manager of Basingstoke's Citizens Advice Bureau, said the proposed increase would hit low-income families the hardest: "It will affect people on low incomes who fall just outside the benefit system, and to whom £40 or £50 a year is a lot of money.

"We see a number of people who have got themselves into difficulty with council tax and it becomes a matter of how you ensure that bill is paid as the penalties can be quite large."

Bosses at both Hampshire County and Basingstoke borough councils are recommending two lots of increases as they set their budgets for 2001.

Hampshire councillors are expected to set a six per cent increase next year while Basingstoke borough members are believed to be looking at a two-and-a-half per cent rise.

Members of the Hampshire Police Authority have yet to say whether they will be recommending an increase in their council tax precept, which will be voted on next February.

The precept will be added to the final taxpayers bill along with charges from Hampshire and Bas-ingstoke councils and any precepts from the parish councils.

However, the increase from the councils alone could mean an extra £40.83 a year for owners of Band D properties those valued between £68,001 and £88,000 in 1991, the average for the area.

Residents in Band E properties - valued between £88,001 and £120,000 - will see an increase of £49.90 in their yearly £959.98 bill.

Capital property values, the values used to place properties in particular bands and currently based on 1991 prices, are expected to be reviewed next year.

Decisions on proposed council tax increases are expected to be made by the three authorities and parish councils in February, with the police authority voting on February 13 and Basingstoke borough councillors voting on February 22.

Before Hampshire's final budget is agreed next year, a telephone survey is to be carried out to gauge public reaction to budget priorities and different levels of budget and council tax increases.

The authority says education and social services remain its top priorities, with social services in line to get a cash increase of 6.4 per cent and education to get 5.8 per cent. The social services increase, however, is expected to be absorbed by existing and new pressures on the budget.

Cllr Ken Thornber, leader of the council, said: "The telephone survey will help inform members about public opinion relating to our budget strategy and enable us to ensure our priorities reflect theirs."