A pensioner has described the shocking moment she was charged over £27k for one day of energy use in her one-bedroom flat.

Janine Duffel, from South Darenth, Kent, who is disabled and lives alone, was paying £53.50 a month for her gas and electricity.

So, the pensioner says she felt "physically sick" when a letter came through a few weeks ago asking her to pay £30,085.13 by the 9 June. "

Janine said she was in shock when she saw it, adding: "I would never be able to pay this amount, and I really don't know which way to turn."

"I'm living on disability income only and I am the one person living in a one-bedroom flat."

"I feel like they are punishing me."

The problems started when Janine got in touch with British Gas to change tariffs after being told her current payments did not cover her usage.

The pensioner changed tariffs to cover the debt, and was expecting to pay £121 per month.

But, to her surprise, her May statement showed a debit of more than £30,000 and that she had been charged £27,864.20 for one day of energy use.

The former publican has degenerative hip and spine disease and ulcerative colitis, which she says has been exacerbated by stress after receiving the bill.

At the time the letter arrived, Janine said: "I'm going to end up in hospital because of this. My blood pressure is dangerously high, I'm really frightened."

"It's been a nightmare."

A complaints adviser told Janine an estimated meter reading of 50078 m3 was used for the gas instead of the actual reading of 3213 m3 on May 18, causing the enormous charge.

She explained the error should have been "manually rectified" and addressed the "shock" of receiving such a bill."

British Gas have since personally apologised to Janine for the distress caused.

But in response, Janine said: "How can you trust them? Are our bills correct? How do they justify this? Don't they check the bills before sending them out?"

Despite explaining the bill was a mistake, Janine is sceptical about how her new tariff could be double what she was paying previously.

She added: "I only have two cups of tea in the morning. I don't have any in the afternoon because I'm avoiding boiling the kettle. Everything is switched off."

"I've got friends with three-bedroom houses who are paying less than me."

Janine has now been put on a pay-as-you-go plan where she pays for exactly what she uses each month.

The pensioner is also waiting for an accessible smart meter monitor to be installed in her home so she can track her energy usage.

She said: "I want to know how much energy I'm using and why it is so high. It makes me feel like someone's draining off my electricity."

"I want a meter in front of me and something I can top up."

A spokesman for British Gas said: "We've resolved this for Ms Duffell and have been in touch to say sorry."

"We've reassured her that the bill she received was sent in error, and we've offered a goodwill gesture in light of her experience which leaves her account in credit."

The company has also directed the customer to its ‘You Pay: We Pay' initiative which is designed to match energy payments made by customers who are in need of help.