Man will be 158 before debt paid

A Northumberland pensioner will be 158 years old before he repays £25,000 he was accidentally overpaid by a council.

The 75-year-old former local authority worker has been asked to pay back the vastly inflated pension he was awarded at £25 a month.

At that rate it would take him 83 years to pay back the cash to Northumberland County Council, which uncovered the mistake in 2003 during an audit.

The council declined to give further details about the "unique" situation.

'Immediate action'

A spokesman said it was a personal matter between the pensioner and the local authority and refused to say what would happen when the man dies.

A brief statement added: "This is a unique case with special circumstances and we have taken the appropriate action to rectify it.

"It was an error which was uncovered in an audit three years ago and we took immediate action to recover our proceeds.

"We cannot go into the details of the arrangements as it is something which has been made between the individual and the council."