BOOKWORMS are to reap the benefits of a council windfall after Customs bosses admitted they were wrongly charging VAT on library fines.

Finance chiefs at Darlington Borough Council spotted the error and took HM Customs and Excise to task.

Now they have received a cheque for more than £8,500 with a note explaining that VAT had been charged in error.

Accountants from the town hall began investigating the matter earlier this year.

With the backing of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, they challenged Customs and Excise on the issue.

Yesterday, the council said it had received a cheque for £8,562 - a refund of VAT on library fines imposed from March 1, 2001, to January 31, this year.

The refund will now be used to improve the book security system at Darlington town centre's Crown Street Library.

Councillor Don Bristow, cabinet member for resources, said: "We have a first-class financial services team at the town hall, who do an excellent job of safeguarding the interests of residents.

"We're delighted their work has resulted in a great little windfall, which will now be ploughed into making improvements in the library service."

More than 750,000 books are loaned out by Darlington's library service every year and failure to return each one costs the borrower 12p per day.

Darlington is the only authority to win a tax windfall in the North-East.