A MIX-UP over names appears to have left Bury with more education cash than expected.

The mistake, thought to stem from an alphabetical error by government officials, means that Bury Council was this year awarded an extra £147,000 for schools borrowing costs.

In last week's Municipal Journal, staff at the Department for Education and Skills were reported to have muddled the figures allocated by Parliament to support capital projects such as school building.

Amounts for Bury and Bexley appear to have been transposed, with Bury the beneficiary.

Town hall bosses do not believe the amount will be recouped this year, which would require consent from Parliament and would affect council tax already set for the borough.

Instead they believe the Government may attempt to reclaim the amount in the future grants it makes to Bury.

Director of finance Mike Owen said: "We do not expect that the Government will try to get the amount back from us this year.

"It will be ignored in this year's budgets, but we are aware that we may be required to return the amount in future years."