An elderly pensioner has said a £4,000-a-year electricity bill bungle left her so nervous she started to have falls.

Joanna Mason, an 85-year-old widow, was told to pay £330 a month for electricity in her one-bedroom flat in Hove, just a year after her supplier British Gas had to apologise for overcharging her because of the same problem.

The energy giant backed down again after The Argus confronted it with the mistake.

Mrs Mason, who voluntarily cares for abandoned Staffordshire Bull Terriers, spoke of the anxiety the problems caused her.

She said: "I was so upset with all the things they have done I fell yesterday and I have got a swollen leg.

"I've been feeling all over the place with panic and fear. I have had no sleep, I worry. I was up to my limit emotionally."

The problem arose because Mrs Mason's meter system gives two readings.

Last year, British Gas told Mrs Mason she owed them £800 for a previous unpaid bill.

It only admitted a mistake had been made when she took her story to her Hove MP Celia Barlow and The Argus.

She was sent a note of apology and a bouquet of flowers.

This year after she agreed a three-year billing scheme costing her £50 a month she was horrified to be sent a bill asking for £330 a month.

Mrs Mason said she found dealing with the company frustrating, and feared other, frail pensioners would not be able to cope with the stress.

She said: "I called them four times. The machine said: 'Press button, 1, 2, 3, 4'.

"It got to the stage where I was so frustrated by the time somebody came on, I said: "Are you somebody with blood in their veins or am I talking to a computer?"

"When she did speak to staff, they kept asking her to read her meter again but were unable to give her a clear answer."

The Argus took up her case and secured an apology and admission of fault from British Gas within two hours.

Mrs Mason said: "It is such a weight offmy shoulders. I thought I had no one else to turn to."

A spokeswoman for British Gas said human error had meant the problem was not solved when it was first raised last year and pledged to repay the cost of her phone calls.

The firm is offering to change Mrs Mason's meter to make sure incorrect readings never happen again.

It issued a statement saying: "I'm really sorry that Joanna has had this problem for a second time.

"It's down to an incorrect meter reading. We thought we had sorted it for her last year but unfortunately someone did not amend her account properly.

"We've now corrected the situation and her direct debit has been reset to £50.

"We will be apologising and offering a gesture of goodwill to cover the costs of the phone calls she has made."