People falsely claiming a single person discount on council tax are being urged to sort out their financial affairs ahead of a new crack down in Watford.

Watford Borough Council is urging people who are no longer eligible for the discount to let the council know as soon as possible.

The council is taking part in an annual Hertfordshire-wide data-matching exercise to identify all the people who are receiving the 25 per cent discount who may not actually be living alone.

During the same exercise last year, the council checked the claims of 2,165 people claiming the single person discount in Watford - and found out 598 residents who weren't entitled to it.

The average amount fraudulently claimed by each of them was £361.44.

By removing the single person discount from them, the council was able to secure £216,142 for Watford and Hertfordshire County Council taxpayers.

The money has instead been put into the town’s public services, such as bin collections, the police force, schools, roads and leisure facilities.

Elected Mayor of Watford Dorothy Thornhill said: “Council tax is an essential way of funding many of the things that make Watford such a great place to be. We always do our best to resolve council tax disputes amicably, but, when we need to, we will take action against those who defraud us for their own gain.”

Watford Borough Council will be conducting the same data-matching exercise this month and in November.

This will involve using a company to conduct credit agency and other financial checks to see if there is any evidence that a claimant may not be living alone.

Residents who were but are no longer eligible for the single person discount are asked to notify the authority by emailing counciltax@watford.gov.uk.

They should include the date they stopped living alone and their council tax reference number in the email.

Residents who fail to notify the council can be fined £75, if it is discovered they should not be in receipt of the single person discount.