FOR most people, retirement is a chance to sit back, relax and spend more time on your hobbies.

But when Darlington Borough Council announced in 2006 that £780,000 of public money had been spent in a error over a gas pipe, 79-year-old retired engineer Raymond Smith refused to take it lying down.

Instead, the pensioner embarked on a one-man crusade to get to the bottom of what had happened and whether the taxpayer should be liable.

In his three years of investigation, Mr Smith, from Hurworth, has attended meetings, painstakingly amassed files of papers and written to many individuals and organisations – including The Northern Echo – in his quest to find the truth and prevent public money from paying the bill.

After speaking to The Northern Echo about the contents of the report last night, Mr Smith said he believed the public had a right to see its contents.

“The ratepayers are paying for this in part,” he said. “The ratepayers should therefore be able to look at the report and make a response. The ratepayers are losing £780,000 which could have been far better spent.

“People have got to account for this.”