YORK bus driver and mother-of-two Julie Acaster fears she may have to quit the job she loves after a catalogue of errors left her without vital tax credits.

Single mum Julie, 27, of Saxon Vale, Shipton-by-Beningbrough, says she has reached the end of her tether with the Inland Revenue after a series of confusing blunders with her working families and child tax credits.

She claims the Inland Revenue have:

Deleted her five-year-old son Aaron from the computer system TWICE

Stopped her tax credits completely while she was eight months pregnant because they claimed they had overpaid her by £2,499

Realised they had made a mistake six weeks later and gave her £1,000 back

Stopped her credits again claiming they had overpaid her by £270

Sent her six different award notices in the last three weeks all promising her different amounts of tax credit.

She has been told she will have to wait up to two weeks for another award notice to come through.

"I am getting really upset. I have been thinking of packing in my job with First because I can't afford childcare without the tax credits," she said.

"But I love my job."

She said when she gave birth to five-month-old Kian, she was left with no benefits at all except maternity pay.

"They told me I had no qualifying children even though Aaron is five-and-a-half. They have managed to wipe my eldest child off their system twice," Julie said.

Before the problems first started in October, she was receiving about £250 a week in tax credits.

An Inland Revenue spokesman said he could not comment on individual cases, but anyone experiencing problems with the tax credit system should phone the helpline on 0845 3003900.

Updated: 09:25 Saturday, April 17, 2004