Protesting ratepayers in Waltham Forest east London lost their High Court battle yesterday against a 62 per cent rate increase.

Two judges rejected the complaint of the 20,000 strong Waltham Forest Ratepayers' Action Group that the Labour dominated borough council had imposed an "irrational, unreasonable and illegal increase".

The ratepayers who raised more than £85,000 to fund their legal campaign, plan to take their case to the Court of Appeal.

Lord Justice Glidewell, sitting with Mr Justice Schiemann, said they acknowledged the strong arguments put forward by the ratepayers against the "massive" rises, but the court could not say that the decision to impose it on March 10 was irrational.

The judges also rejected the argument that the council had failed to comply with its legal duty to consult its commercial and industrial ratepayers properly.