COUNCIL tenants in Waltham Abbey are set for a £50,000 pay-out after the council discovered it had been over-charging them for gas for eight years.

Nearly 200 tenants in 25 blocks of flats on the Ninefields estate are set to benefit because the council had been charging them for cooking with gas - despite the fact they had electric cookers.

It happened because residents paid a flat rate for gas in their rent bills which was based on readings from communal meters, and that left many paying for gas they were not using.

Some are also thought to have been charged separately by private companies for the same gas via a secondary gas meters in their homes.

Residents Gloria Eaton, 74, from Cullings Court said: "Getting cash back from the council is a miracle"

Mrs Eaton, who has been a council tenant at the property for the past 14 years, added: "Its very good news. Generally if I need anything the council are very good, but I do pay council tax so it would be nice to get something back."

Tina Foxwell, 44, widower, care home worker, and mum-of-three of Winters Way said: “Our gas bills have always seemed high and the last one was ridiculous - £184 quid I think.

"We have an electric cooker and it is not like we use a lot of gas. I am always telling the kids to turn the radiators down. We haven't heard anything about this, although we did get a letter through the other day saying the rent has gone up. So this really would be a welcome boost, because things are really tight for everyone at the moment."

The compensation is likely to be a one-off payment of between £90 and £260, and will be based on the average gas cooking consumption of a typical small family, as advised by British Gas.

Most of the money will come from the council's housing repairs fund.

The council now plans to ask the National Grid to replace the communal bulk gas meters with individual units.

Councillor David Stallan, portfolio holder for housing, said: "We appreciate that this is a very important matter for tenants. We are writing to all tenants to explain the situation.

"I am very sorry to all those tenants and leaseholders who may have been affected by this issue but I believe that the measures we have put in place will remedy the situation."