AN elderly woman who lives hundreds of miles from Waltham Forest has been receiving letters ordering her to pay penalty fines in a council blunder.

Barbara Sly, 71, lives in Retford in Nottinghamshire but has been receiving letters from the council telling her to pay traffic fines for contraventions of rules in Walthamstow High Street.

But Mrs Sly has never been to Walthamstow and has never owned a Land Rover – the car responsible for the breaches, as shown in photos taken by the council.

Mrs Sly said: “It's definitely not my car. Mine was a Rover 216, which is a soft top. I've even been to the DVLA in Lincoln and they agreed.”

She has already received two letters, telling her to pay £60 and then £120 for two separate breaches in September and October.

Her son, Tim, 46, said: “She lives on her own and she's got various illnesses – it's been very worrying for her.”

His mother's car, a Rover 216 Cabriolet, was registered as B2SLY but has been scrapped, he added.

The car in question, he said, is actually registered as D2SLY but a screw head on the licence plate has made the D look like a B, thus causing the mix up.

The council website now shows that both penalty charge notices have been cancelled but Mrs Sly said she felt like she had been harassed.

She said: “I just didn't want this at my age. I've never been to Walthamstow and I don't even know where it is.

“Writing to the council has been a bit like desperation. Just looking at the photos, they would realise what's happened.”

A Waltham Forest Council spokesman said: "As soon as we realised this error we cancelled the fixed penalty charges and have written to Mrs Sly to apologise for any distress or inconvenience caused by this mistake."

The council also said the error was identified after the ticket was issued but before Mrs Sly's son contacted it to complain.