Couple told their boisterous cat named Ernie could be to blame for eye watering £11,000 gas bill

A couple have been told their boisterous cat could be to blame for an eye watering gas bill. Lee Haynes, 44, and Jo Woodley, 45, were told they owed almost £11,000 for 18 years worth of missed bills.

The couple previously made the news after Royal Mail said it was unable to deliver post to their home in Tamworth, Staffordshire, following attacks by their cat Ernie. Social media users speculated whether the two incidents were linked, with one writing: "I wonder if the events are related," the Mirror reports.

The postal service reportedly claimed: "Your cat is behind the letterbox clawing at mail and fingers." Talking about the unexpected gas bill, Lee said it was his 'worst fear' had come true. "It was very strange," he said.

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"After a few months we had bills for everything but not gas. I was worried about suddenly getting a big bill - so I tried really hard to find out who was supplying our gas.

"The guy from the housing association tried all the suppliers they work with and said he didn't know what to do. When the ombudsman said just to keep the paperwork and leave it that's exactly what we did."

But the pair eventually received a letter from gas distributors Cadent in March 2023, saying they wanted to come and look at the supply to the property. A follow-up letter from Cadent then landed on their doorstep three months later - which said the couple owed £10,824.87 for gas usage between 2005 and 2023.

People have now pointed out that perhaps their rowdy pet was part of the reason they didn’t receive letters for such a long time. Two images of the couple, one from