A BLUNDER by Thames Water has left a Wooburn Green family with bills for more than £53,000 and threats to send the bailiffs in.

Matt and Claire Finn, of Wooburn Manor Park, first noticed a huge jump in their bills back in March, when they were quoted more than £4,000 instead of the £150 bills they usually pay.

Mr Finn rang the utilities company to complain and was told that the problem would be sorted out.

But the excessive bills continued to arrive, resulting in a demand for £53,280 in May.

Thames Water again acknowledged the error, but nothing was done.

The problem reached a climax on Wednesday, June 29, when yet another invoice, this time for £24,090.75, was received by the Finn family with the added threat that the bailiffs would be sent in.

Mrs Finn, 27, a teacher at Chalfont St Peter C of E School, currently on maternity leave after the birth of their second child, now fears that the problem will affect their credit rating and relationship with their bank.

She said: "We thought it was a joke but things have got worse and worse. We are trying to get a new mortgage but we won't be able to do that now. They keep saying they will sort it but we are just another number to them."

David Britton, from water regulation body Ofwat, claimed the Finn's latest bill suggested they had used 37million litres of water enough to fill 15 Olympic size swimming pools.

He said: "You would have to keep your tap running for a very long time to rack up that sort of debt."

A spokesman for Thames Water said the bill would now be cancelled and a phone call of apology made to Mr Finn.

The spokesman said: "'In March of this year a very high meter reading was taken at the Finn's property and Mr Finn has been billed incorrectly as a result. We are currently investigating just why the reading was so high."

Dominic Grieve MP, for Beaconsfield, said: "Something very wrong has happened. The figures are preposterous and it's down to Thames Water to put this right as quickly as possible."