Fog of confusion as officials misplace Newcastle

0 Comments | AFP, February, 2008

LONDON (AFP) — A Staffordshire town is refusing to pay back over a million pounds in grants on Thursday after embarrassed civil servants confused them with another English city.

The Department for Communities and Local Government mistook the market town of Newcastle-Under-Lyme -- with a population of just 74,000 people -- with the industrial city of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne -- which is 186 miles away and has 260,000 residents -- when calculating funding budgets, resulting in a 1.1 million pound overpayment.

The market town claims that its 2.5 million pound grant has already been earmarked for projects and they are unable to pay it back.

"It was a large amount but we assumed it was in recognition of the work we've done to encourage business growth," said Simon...