A man who was told to expect a visit from bailiffs over outstanding council tax - even though he had already paid - is relieved after Barnet Borough Council admitted it was wrong.

Martin Roach, of West Hendon Broadway, paid the authority the £969.13 for his 2014/15 council tax on April 28 last year.

But three weeks later he was horrified to receive a court summons claiming he still owed money and would be required to attend a hearing in June.

But writing to the authority proved futile and he was hit with more summons and court orders.

Barnet Council eventually realised it was wrong and issued an apology.

Mr Roach, 61, said: “They are saying it was not lost, we just didn’t know where it was as they allocated it to the wrong year.

“When they found it again, they didn’t tell anyone. As far as I knew, the bailiffs were going to call up on me.

“I spent the best part of last year expecting to be visited by bailiffs. I would have been in the position of having bailiffs on my doorstep, trying to tell them I had already paid.

“As it turns out, they found the money anyway. It’s not as if it’s a small sum."

Barnet Council said the error was caused when Mr Roach failed to respond to a letter asking for more information about his living arrangements.

In a statement, it said: “We would like to apologise to Mr Roach for this error, which meant his payment was allocated to a previous year’s council tax arrears, not lost.

“The arrears occurred due to the removal of Mr Roach’s single person discount after he failed to respond to a request asking for further information about his current status.

“Once we realised the error the liability orders were withdrawn and the debt recalled from our enforcement agents. Mr Roach has been reissued with a new bill.

“We have written to Mr Roach explaining our error and apologising for any undue stress and inconvenience caused.”