A MALVERN mum could not believe her eyes when a letter arrived saying her child had an appointment to have her tonsils out.

For Peggy Houghton is a sprightly 86 and daughter Angela Rodway is 56, with two children of her own.

Mrs Houghton, who lives in Malvern Link, got the letter last week from the Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, telling of Angela's appointment with the surgeon was on Tuesday, April 8.

In fact, Mrs Rodway had her tonsils removed at hospital in Worcester 50 years ago.

"We didn't know what it was all about when I got the letter," said Mrs Houghton.

"It must be some kind of mix-up, but I can't imagine how it happened.

"My daughter phoned them up and asked them to check the date of birth of the child. They said 'May 10, 1947', but they still didn't see the mistake until she pointed it out.

"My doctor said I should have put Angela in a wheelchair and pushed her into the hospital. It would have been nice to see the looks on their faces."

Janet Marie Clarke, of Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "The letter was sent out as a result of an extremely simple clerical error.

"We've already apologised to the family and also sent a letter to Mrs Houghton apologising for any confusion it caused."

Mrs Houghton said: "We've had a good laugh about it. The BBC and Central TV came along to film us and we even had someone from The Sun coming around."