AN energy supplier is taking legal action against a Worcestershire couple over a bill for more than £600 - which they were told they would not have to pay.

Craig Gardner, aged 32, and his wife Sara are being taken to the small claims court by power supplier Aquila over damage to a power cable.

Aquila claims the couple is liable for the £634.87 bill for the cost of repairs to the power cable, which runs under their land.

But engineers who repaired the damage to the cable told the couple they would not have to pay the cost of repairs, because the cable was not marked on any plans.

The couple bought Sinton Ends Farm, in Acton Beauchamp, near Bromyard, four years ago and they live there with their three-year-old son Samuel.

But the farm did not have a mains gas supply, so in August 2001, they decided to have a gas tank put in.

Mr Gardner, a telecommunications manager, said on the morning of August 11 a digger was being used to clear top soil from their garden in order to bury an underground gas tank.

"It struck the cable. There was a loud bang and an acrid blue-black smoke appeared.

"We shut off the digger immediately and inspected the hole and saw a large black cable duct which had no warning tape around it."

After the re-checking the plans they found that the cable was not marked, so they called Aquila whose representatives arrived later in the day.

Mr Gardner said the engineers brought a laptop computer with them and revealed that the cable was not shown on their computer-generated plans of the area.

"They said it was no wonder we had hit it, because there was no way we could have known it was there," said Mr Gardner.

The engineers told them that they would not be liable for any charges because it had been an accident.

But six months later - in February 2002 - they received a bill for £634.87 but they refused to pay. The couple have been fighting the bill ever since, and now Aquila is taking them to court.

A spokesperson for Aquila they have contacted Mr Gardner on several occasions asking for settlement of this claim but this has not been forthcoming.

"We have suggested a reduction in the invoice and this has also been refused," said the spokeswomen.