Residents in Bristol are furious after being landed with council bills for hundreds of pounds to paint their homes and carry out repairs without being properly consulted.

They bought their flats in Sturminster Close, Stockwood, on 127-year leases but the city council is still responsible for the upkeep of the outside of their homes.

The flats are converted three-bed semi-detached houses with four flats to a block. Some of them are still occupied by council tenants.

The flat owners have now been presented with bills ranging between £400-£600 which do not fully itemise the work carried out at each flat.

One of them, Ted Watts, 64, a former works manager, said they felt as though they had been "ripped off" by the council.

He was sent a bill for £647 which includes a 15 per cent admin charge.

He said: "There is no way of knowing what I'm supposed to have received for the money.

"I was told I would get a breakdown of the work done but I never received one."

He went to the council's depot at Sandy Park for an explanation but he said no one wanted to help.

Nurse Kerry Morrison, 28, who lives in the same street and was given a bill of nearly £500, said: "There was no consultation with us at all.

"You would expect them to say what they had in mind and then discuss it with us but we had no input at all."

Customer advisor Tim De La Rew, 48, who received a bill for £559.50, said: "I was disgusted when I got this bill.

"We're just being treated as cash cows because we're leaseholders. They think that because we've invested in our properties, we've got a bottomless pit of money to spend on repairs and maintenance."

Deb Lewis, 40, a machine operator, who also received a bill for £559.50, said: "I don't understand why we have been presented with these bills when we pay a £300 service charge every year."

She said she pointed out to the workmen that she didn't want some jobs carried out, such as the shed or her front door painted.

She said they offered to paint the railing on her front step for £18.

But one of her neighbours Nigel Sollars, 60, a lorry driver, said he was quoted £70 for his front and rear railings.

He complained about the bill and demanded a breakdown of costs, which he was subsequently sent.

Mr Sollars said: "There is no comeback for us on the work that has been carried out."

Postie Dave Hopkins, 58, said there was a "contingency payment" on his bill for £10 to clear away ivy from the outside of his flat.

But he said the ivy had not been touched.

None of the leaseholders can understand why they have been presented with a 15-per cent administration charge.

The leaseholders are not clear whether the bills are estimates or charges which must be paid.

Bristol City Council spokesman Pete Wood said that repairs and exterior repainting was carried out on a seven-year-cycle.

He said: "Tenants were served with notice back in March informing them of forthcoming work, and bills they have received are in fact estimates of work based on a block figure divided by number of flats.

"The final bills are in some cases significantly less when service charges are billed next September.

"We wouldn't, for example, paint aluminium or PVC window frames installed by leaseholders.

"In terms of the breakdown of the costs, legally we're not obliged to do this, although a number of people have requested this and we have supplied it."

He said that if any leaseholders had concerns, they should get in touch with the council.