Prince of Wales pub sent gas bill for 'Prince Charles' Published duration 12 January 2015

image copyright contributed image caption Pub owners Karen Rand and Terry Gaskin said they had no idea if Prince Charles had paid his gas bill

A pub called The Prince of Wales has been sent an unpaid bill demand for £1,773.30 from British Gas addressed to "HRH Prince Charles".

The pub at Broxted near Stansted Airport is not on the gas mains and the landlord said it also did not have an electricity account with British Gas.

Landlord Terry Gaskin said: "It was a bit of a shock - obviously there has been some sort of mix-up."

British Gas said neither the prince nor the pub were meant to get the letter.

image copyright Other

The letter, which begins with the salutation "Your Royal Highness", states that British Gas had tried to contact the recipient "a number of times" and the company had put the matter in the hands of a debt recovery company called PRA Group.

PRA confirmed it was aware a letter had been sent but it had not been informed of its contents.

Mr Gaskin, 57, who has run the pub in Essex for three years with his partner, said it was the first letter he had received about any unpaid bill.

"I've got no account with British Gas and I haven't contacted them, so I don't know whether we'll hear from them again," he said.

"I've no idea whether Prince Charles has been paying his gas bill or not."

image copyright Prince of Wales, Broxted image caption Terry Gaskin and Karen Rand took over the Prince of Wales pub in Broxted three years ago

A British Gas spokeswoman said: "His Royal Highness can rest assured that he was not the intended recipient of this letter.

"We're looking into how the error occurred so that it can be resolved.

"We've also tried to contact Mr Gaskin today in order to explain the situation and put his mind at rest."

image copyright PA image caption British Gas confirmed the bill was not meant to be sent to Prince Charles