AN Evesham family has been left financially crippled since being ordered to cough up £8,000 of overpaid benefits.

Janne Tustin told the Worcester News the Inland Revenue was clawing back the cash after doling out too much Working Families Tax Credit.

She, her husband Lee and their three young children - aged eight, six and three - now face months of hardship as their weekly spending budget has been slashed by almost £200.

The Alexandra Road resident said the blunder happened because the family was also receiving Income Support, which is not allowed, but that she had pointed this out to the Tax Credits office on a number of occasions.

"We cannot believe the mistake they have made.

"I filled in the forms with the correct information and told them we were receiving other benefits but they said that was okay.

"Now they have changed their minds we have to pay it all back and are really going to struggle and find it hard to make ends meet," she added.

Mr Tustin works full-time as a horticulturist and Mrs Tustin works part-time running a pre-school.

The amount they are having to pay back is double the sum Mrs Tustin earns in a year.

"Their incompetence has left us paying the price. In fact, saying they are incompetent is putting it mildly."

A spokeswoman for the Tax Credit office said she couldn't comment on particular cases but said Mrs Tustin could appeal on the decision.

"We may decide someone would not be asked to pay back all or part of an overpayment if they were paid too much because of a mistake by us, and it was reasonable for them to think an award was right. Also, if re-payment would cause hardship to the person or their family. We may also accept payment over a longer period of time."