A BANK has paid out £75 in compensation to a former Sheriff of York after he claimed they got his address wrong.

Peter Brown, of Acomb, who was Sheriff in 1990-91, had complained to Lloyds Bank, saying York was not legally part of North Yorkshire and the county should not be included in York’s postal address after it sent him a letter addressed to “York, North Yorkshire”.

He said that historically, York had always been independent from the surrounding county, except for the brief spell from 1974 to 1995 when it was included in North Yorkshire.

He said it had regained its independence almost two decades ago when the unitary authority, City of York Council, was created, and the only connection now was that it shared a police force and fire service with North Yorkshire.

In 1386, Richard II created the city of York in its own right, separate from the Ridings, and set up the office of Sheriff. Since then, every incoming Sheriff has taken an oath to preserve and protect the city.

Lloyds Bank customer services official David Fellows said in a letter to Mr Brown that he had verified his address with Royal Mail and accepted his assertion.

“As you mentioned, North Yorkshire ought not to be included as one of the lines of your address,” he said. “Please accept our apologies for this mistake.

“To put things right, I am offering to pay you £75 for any frustration and inconvenience caused.”

He said when Mr Brown had notified Lloyds in the past, it had changed his address in individual account systems but in the system which “showed an oversight of his entire customer profile, this information had not been communicated”.

He said: “I have today submitted a request to have your address corrected thoroughly and properly.”

Mr Brown said he was delighted to have received the acknowledgement of the correct address for York, and hoped other customers in York were also given the right address.