But, ironically, the council's hands are tied as legislation dictates the concessions themselves amount to discrimination.

The rule came to light after pensioners, who had been paying £24 per term to attend council-run art classes at Freeston Business and Enterprise College, found they would have to pay £40 from September – just £8 less than full price.

But under the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations introduced nationally in 2006, concessionary fees for the elderly for vocational training were regarded as discrimination against those not entitled to them.

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Brenda Radley, 69, of Rose Farm Approach, Altofts, wrote to the council to complain.

She said: "It is ridiculous – age and low income go hand in hand.

"It's discrimination against the elderly, they want us to just curl up and die because they encourage us to stay fit and healthy on one hand and then put prices up out of our reach on the other."

Christine Remnant, 61, of Snydale Grove, said: "I still work but I am on a fixed income and £40 is a lot of money to find.

"I really enjoy the class as it is something I have wanted to do for a long time, but I am not sure I can stretch to that, especially when everything else is going up in price as well these days."

A statement released earlier this week said: "Our fees for adult education remain some of the lowest in West Yorkshire for these courses.

"Advisory bodies within adult education have come to the conclusion that charging people less based on their age contravenes the new regulations and that concessionary charges should be based on income.

"But we do understand that many older people have a reduced income and therefore they can easily apply for a reduction in fees based on their income, which could reduce their costs to rates comparable with recent years."