By Conor Sharkey

A LOCAL lobbying group this week vowed to do all within their power to cancel out government plans to introduce water charges to homes in the Strabane area.

Communities Against Water Tax (CAWT) launched a bill board campaign on Tuesday urging people to say no to water charges. The move comes following the recent revelation by Sinn Fein that charges will be "phased in over the next three years and collected on the same basis as the current rates system, ie it will be based on the value of your house".

But according to local CAWT campaigners Paul Gallagher and Seamus Devine any charges, no matter how they are represented to the public are unacceptable. The two men were on the streets on Tuesday evening putting up build boards with the simple message: "No water charges".

Speaking earlier this week, the men explained: "We are upping our campaign on the back of a Sinn Fein statement which declared that water charges are inevitable. Communities Against Water Charges do not believe this to be the case and we will be setting about making the general public aware of just what is happening over the coming weeks and months. We would ask the general public to join us in our awareness campaign and we would urge them to drive the message forward to politicians that water charges are not needed, not wanted and are simply not affordable," they said.

Accusing political parties of doubling back on promises made in the run up to the last election, Mr Gallagher and Mr Devine added: "We want people to realise that in the lead up to the last election, polticians knocked on their doors and told them that water charges would be abolished, no matter what. Now the public is being told that this is not the case at all.

"We want people to write to their local politicians and councillors and ask just where we are on this issue.

"Are our politicians in government here at all, our is the North still being ruled directly from Britain?," they asked.

'We want people to realise that in the lead up to the last election, polticians knocked on their doors and told them that water charges would be abolished, no matter what.'