'We apologised and refunded money': Council bailiffs took money that wasn't owed from Telford church

A reader called the Shropshire Star saying that council bailiffs had been seen at Telford Community Grocery, in Holyhead Road, Ketley.

The Message Trust, which operates the community grocery, directed inquiries to the Lighthouse Church as the owner of the building. The church has not responded to requests for information.

But Telford & Wrekin Council has admitted that there had been 'some confusion' when its enforcement agents visited and a payment was made. It has apologised to the organisation and vowed to review its procedures.

A spokesperson for Telford & Wrekin Council said: "The majority of business rate payers in the borough pay their rates on time, so it is important to them, and to the council, that we recover unpaid rates from those organisations that don’t pay their share.

“Unfortunately there was some confusion when enforcement agents visited and a payment was made, so we have taken immediate action to refund money and apologised to the organisation.

"We will also be reviewing our procedures to ensure that processes are clearer.”