A GRANDFATHER received the shock of his life when an electricity bill for more than £12,500 landed on his doormat.

Fred Sherratt was more than a little surprised when he opened the letter from his suppliers, EDF Energy, asking for £12,605.70.

The 85-year-old – who lives in a two-bedroom bungalow – contacted the customer helpline and explained his predicament.

Grandfather-of-two Mr Sherratt, of Windmill Close, Barbourne, said: “I was a bit shocked. Apparently EDF have been doing some modifications in the area and I noticed the account number on this bill was not mine.

“My first thought when I received it was, ‘How am I going to find £12,000?’ I rang my daughter and told her and she said, ‘“What?!’.

“I then rang EDF up and said ‘do you think I have got a big firm working down here?’. They were very apologetic.

“I don’t know how these things happen. At my age, when someone presents you with a bill for £12,000 it doesn’t do your heart any good.”

After phoning EDF, Mr Sherratt, who has been with the company since 2006, received a revised bill for a much more reasonable £168.19 the following day.

“It’s very satisfying it’s now been sorted. I think I’ll sleep tonight,” he said.

Father-of-two Mr Sherratt, a retired product engineer, is not the first person to mistakenly receive an astronomical electricity bill.

Last year, Scarlett Hall from Acworth, Georgia, USA, was astounded when she was asked by her energy supplier to fork out more than one billion dollars.

Your Worcester News contacted EDF Energy about the mix-up but it was unable to provide a comment at the time we went to press.

In a statement released to us on Monday, the company said Mr Sherratt’s unusually large bill was caused by a system error, for which they apologised.

A spokesman said: "Normally, such abnormalities are caught by the system for an advisor to review. Regrettably, due to a further system error the bill was released.

"We apologise again for any inconvenience caused to Mr Sherratt."