SEASON tickets for Northam Burrows could be scrapped if a council recommendation is followed.

Torridge District Council is planning to get rid of the £40 seasonal passes, which allow access through the toll road on to the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The council's original plan was to increase the cost of the passes from £40 to £210, but the proposal was reviewed and a new suggestion of dropping the passes has been suggested.

Currently residents of the old manor of Northam can apply to Northam Town Council for a free toll pass for an administration fee of just £12.

The town council is given 1,500 free passes by the district council and money from the administration fee is often used by the town council to buy more season tickets if the scheme is oversubscribed.

Last year the town council bought nearly 200 of the 600 season tickets sold by the district council.

The district council confirmed it will continue to give the town council 1,500 passes, but Northam mayor Chas Langton still anticipates problems if the proposal is passed.

He said: "The problem will be how do we allocate the 1,500 passes? Everyone is entitled to purchase these for £12 at the moment and I think it could cause us great difficulty.

"People in the area will be upset and it is causing a problem and concern."

Torridge District Council's Community Resources Committee will discuss the proposals at its meeting on Monday, October 4.