A PENSIONER was sent a letter from his local council asking him to return his dead sister's bath lift - despite her being alive and well.
Anthony Sedgwick, of Thornaby, Teesside, said he was shocked by the letter, which deeply upset his sick wife, Joyce, who had opened it.
A member of the family phoned Mr Sedgwick's sister, Doreen Stoker, 65, of Portrack, Stockton, and discovered she was very much alive.
"It sounds funny now, but it was really upsetting at the time," said Mr Sedgwick.
Brian Hamilton, Stockton Borough Council's assistant director of social services, said last night: "This was a genuine mistake, and we apologise for it. Unfortunately, we confused Mrs Stoker with someone with a very similar name who had passed away."
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