North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) has proven itself to be a champion tax collector.

The authority has announced it collected 98.74pc of council tax and 99.4pc of business rates for the 2017/18 tax year, putting it among the country's most effective councils at tax collecting.

The council tax figure is the highest percentage collected for more than 10 years and the second highest ever collected by the council, while the business rates figure is the joint highest percentage ever collected by NNDC.

The figures also mean that NNDC had the best business rates collection figure in Norfolk and the second best for council tax.

Nationally, NNDC was joint 25th out of 326 authorities for business rates and joint 38th out of 326 for council tax.

Councillor Wyndham Northam, Conservative portfolio holder for revenues and benefits, hailed the result, saying: 'This is fantastic news, and it's a direct result of a lot of hard work put in by the council's staff.

'In this era of limited resources, this money is absolutely vital for us as we continue to provide first-class services for the residents and businesses of North Norfolk.

'These figures compare brilliantly with those elsewhere in the country, and I'm very proud of all our staff who have helped make this happen.'

The praise was echoes by the leaders of the council's other political groups

Eric Seward, the council's shadow portfolio holder for revenues and benefits, said: 'It is important as councils struggle to fund services that the required level of income from council tax and Business Rates is collected.

'The figures show that this is another excellent year for the collection of taxes in North Norfolk and reflects the hard work put in by officers to bring this about.'

And John Rest, leader of the Independent group, said: 'The real credit for this success must go to the excellent team of officers and staff that work in this department.

'Their diligence and efficiency ensures that all revenue is collected in a timely fashion.'

The collection information has been submitted to NNDC's cabinet, scrutiny and full council as part of its debt management annual report.