A CITY mum is trying to give money back to the Inland Revenue after they wrongly paid her nearly £1,000 a month in childcare grants.

Meanwhile dozens of working parents struggling to obtain tax credits owed to them have contacted the Evening News to tell their stories, after we highlighted the debacle yesterday.

The single mum-of-three, who did not want to be named, has been told she pays a massive £4,890 for childcare. But she only pays out £48 a week for nursery and an after-school club place. Now she has been paid £944 a month, despite being owed less than half.

She has called and e-mailed the Inland Revenue 10 times to try and get the money taken out of her bank account - to no avail.

"I thought I'd won the Lottery when I saw it there," said the mum, who lives in the Arboretum area of the city. "I felt really good that I had all that money but then I saw the mistake.

"I can't believe they would pay that much when the maximum you can claim is £140 a week. Anyone looking at it would think you can't pay that much in childcare. I think I'm owed around £300 to £400."

She says she realised the mistake when checking her account last week and has made every effort to rectify it. But while thousands of other parents still waiting for their first payment, no one at the tax office seems interested in taking the money back.

"It will probably go on for months," she said. "My friends are really frustrated with waiting, for my money to come through they couldn't believe it. I can't give this money to my friends because it will have to be given back.

"I've now written to the Inland Revenue telling them not to put any more money in the bank because I'm not entitled to it."

Other parents have complained how frustrated they are at still not receiving the tax credits through their bank accounts.

The tax credits - child tax credit and working tax credit - were introduced by the Government as a way of helping families on low incomes stay in employment.

Patrick O'Brien, a spokesman for the Inland Revenue, said her claim would be investigated.

"We're very sorry to hear about this individual taxpayer's problem," said Mr O'Brien.

"We would urge anyone who is having any problems with their tax credit claim to visit their local tax inquiry centre or ring our helpline on 0845 3003900."

n Have you had problems claiming your working or child tax credits? Contact our newsroom by calling 01905 74 22 44 or e-mailing: wenedit@thisisworcester.co.uk