A TRADESMAN was shocked to receive a delivery of 3,000 identical congestion charge receipts from Transport for London (TfL).

Graeme Ellis, of High Firs, Swanley, paid for his £8 congestion charge online and requested a receipt for his payment.

Three days later a lorry arrived outside his house. A postman walked to the door carrying three crates of paper.

The boxes contained 3,000 identical receipts for his payment - each in its own addressed and franked envelope.

Mr Ellis, who is a 37-year-old blind-fitter, said: "I drive all around the country with my job and inevitably that sometimes takes me through London.

"I always pay for my congestion charge online and always ask for a receipt so that I don't lose track of things - as I have been fined for not paying it before.

"But I couldn't believe it when 3,000 of the things arrived. It's terrible. What a complete waste of money and time and paper. The Government are always telling us that we need to be greener and that we should be saving the world, and yet they do things like this."

Mr Ellis, who is married, with an eight-year-old son, Harrison, and daughter, Emily, aged five, said: "The kids think it's great. They are building stuff out of all the paper. They made a tower which is taller than me and I am over six feet tall.

"It has had its uses as well. We have been shredding the paper to use as bedding for the rabbits and the dog has had great fun rolling around in it and tearing it up."

The wasteful delivery on March 13 was not Mr Ellis's first. In late February he received 25 receipts for a congestion payment and a week later he received 500 for another one.

He added: "I phoned TfL after 3,000 were delivered and they did offer to come and collect them. But we've managed to find ways of using it. They blamed the waste of paper on a glitch with their computers."

Meanwhile a spokesman for TfL said: "This is clearly an unacceptable error. Our service provider, Capita, have identified the fault and put in additional controls to ensure it does not happen in the future."

  • Have you had any similarly bizarre deliveries? Add your comments below or click here to email