A woman who had not been to London for three years was fined for not paying the congestion charge to get into the capital.

Gwenda Wells, pictured, thought it was a joke when she received a letter demanding £40 for a trip she had never made.

She said: "I couldn't believe it. I thought it was a wind-up.

"I haven't even been to London for three years - and even then I went on the train!"

The letter from Transport for London claimed Mrs Wells, 66, had visited the capital on July 17 and failed to pay the city's controversial congestion charge.

Mrs Wells said: "It gave my registration number but there is no way it could have been me. My car has never been to London. I only use it for shopping and visiting my grandchildren around here."

Mrs Wells, of Fagley Drive, Eccleshill, believed she had been the victim of a number-plate cloning scam.

But despite sending a letter declaring her innocence, she received a second letter demanding £120.

She said: "I thought that would be the end of it but another letter was waiting when we got back from holiday.

"It completely ignored my first letter and said if I didn't pay up it would result in the bailiffs."

Mrs Wells and her husband Jeffrey contacted the police who spoke to Transport for London on their behalf.

She added said: "The police were helpful but said the only way we could sort it out was with a character witness.

"I couldn't believe at my age I was having to go through this. I have never been in any sort of trouble before but I would have gone to prison rather than pay a fine that wasn't anything to do with me."

Mrs Wells said she was reduced to a "bag of nerves" by the whole episode.

She said: "It was awful. I was made to feel like a liar and it was very upsetting. I had sleepless nights over it all."

But it was Mrs Wells' neighbours who eventually came to the rescue.

She said: "They remembered meeting me to arrange a barbecue on the day in question and had put it in their diaries. All of them said they were prepared to stand for me."

When Mr Wells explained this in an appeal letter, the penalty was finally dropped.

Mrs Wells said: "They apologised and said they were satisfied it wasn't me but that was it. After months of worry and upset a bunch of flowers would have been nice. At the very least they should have reimbursed me for the phone calls and postage costs. But there was nothing."

A spokesman for Transport for London said they were unable to comment on individual cases but added: "If someone feels they have received an incorrect penalty charge notice we would encourage them to follow the instructions for appealing the penalty.

"We have set the system up to be as fair as possible but mistakes can happen for a number of reasons.

"Number plates can sometimes be misread by cameras if they are splatted with mud or human error can occur."