Pigeon fanciers have reacted with outrage after being told that they must pay business rates because the pastime has been deemed not to be a sport.

A revolt is now brewing in one racing club, which was told that it will have to start paying for a small shed that is used for storing race baskets.

Sports clubs can formally apply for dispensation from Revenue & Customs for 80 per cent relief and then to their local authority for a 20 per cent reduction.

However, Belford Racing Pigeon Club in Northumberland has been told by Berwick-upon-Tweed Borough Council that because the pursuit is not listed as one of the sports eligible for the dispensation it will have to start paying rates from April. Members say that the decision could affect nearly 50,000 competitors across the country, landing them with extra costs of several million pounds.

The club is now proposing to seek the help of the Queen, in her role as the patron of the Royal Pigeon Racing Association.

Eric Sim, the club’s chairman, said: “Pigeon racing has been recognised as a sport for well over 100 years and this latest turn of events will cause many clubs to struggle to make ends meet.

“We have had our shed, a simple wooden one, on a little piece of land for more than 25 years and we were never asked for rates before. It seems so unfair.”

A spokesman for Revenue said that pigeon racing was not listed as one of the sports eligible for business rates relief under the Community Amateur Sports Club scheme. However, he added that it was still possible for local authorities to offer grants at their discretion.

Geoff O’Connell, an independent councillor in Berwick, said that he had sent a letter to Buckingham Palace asking the Queen to intervene.

“During the Second World War owners gave more than a quarter of a million pigeons to our Defence Forces and they were used most effectively to carry messages from battlefronts and to save lives from sinking ships and downed aircraft,” he added. “It is little to ask the Government to show some sympathy towards this group of people by reversing this decision and recognising this activity is a sport.”

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