A woman has finally been reimbursed by South West Water four months after receiving a refund cheque she couldn’t cash in the name of her dead husband.

Gill Wyatt of Bere Alston received a cheque in the post in her own name in the last few weeks, two days after the Tavistock Times Gazette intervened on her behalf with the water company.

South West Water has apologised.

Gill was owed the refund of more than £400 for an emergency repair after her kitchen mixer tap bust on Easter Monday this year, April 21.

The damage occurred after a pipe burst at Dousland Treatment Works near Tavistock that day, leaving many homes without water in the area.

South West Water agreed to refund the money, but the cheque sent out in mid-June was in the name of Mr G V Wyatt, Gill’s late husband Geoff, who died more than seven years ago.

Despite numerous phone calls and emails to SWW, Gill has only finally received a cheque in the post in the past week.

She said before the refund was issued: “I’m fuming, I’m really cross. I just think it is totally and utterly incompetent of South West Water. I want the money back. It is no good someone saying ‘I’m sorry to hear that and not doing anything about it’. Maybe they hope I’ll go away and forget about it and then they don’t need to pay me.”

She added: “I am getting to the end of my tether now, it was absolutely horrendous to receive something addressed to my husband after all this time. It is very hurtful as we were soulmates and I miss him very much.”

A South West Water spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry for the inconvenience caused due to an error on our system. The cheque has been reissued, and we’ve taken steps to ensure this does not happen again.”