£5,400 bill was just hot air, says resident

He was astounded to get it in the first place, because he doesn't use gas.

"After the initial shock, I just had to laugh, " said Mr Gould. "The bill related to a company called Normec Limited for the period January 12 to April 22.

"The joke of it is the company closed down years ago and the premises at the rear of Sackville Road has not had a gas supply for ages."

He added: "I think the meter man must have just held his fingers up to the breeze and thought of a number. The VAT alone was 806.41."

Mr Gould said that British Gas had quickly cancelled the invoice when he drew it to the company's attention.

But he said such an error could have caused genuine distress to an elderly person or to someone on a limited income had it landed on their doormat.

Sarah Powell-Davies, corporate affairs spokeswoman for British Gas, said: "This was an unusual occurrence, for which we are sorry.

"There is a gas meter on the premises, but we know that Mr Gould does not use gas.

"Unfortunately, our system was treating the meter as still being live, and not having received a reading from it for some time, it generated an estimated bill.

"The meter has now been adjusted to show zero consumption, and so Mr Gould should not get any more bills."