A NORTH Yorkshire family say they are embroiled in a "David and Goliath" battle with their electricity supplier after receiving bills for thousands of pounds.

Don and Helen Recchia have always dreamed of living in an energy-efficient paradise with their two children, Lucy, 11, and David, ten.

When they moved to Smith's Lane, Flaxton, near York, in July to build an environmentally- friendly holiday site with six log cabins and a eco-house, they thought their dreams were becoming a reality.

But on September 10 last year, only weeks after they moved in, energy company npower sent them an electricity bill for £2,228.55.

From then on the Recchias have received monthly bills of more than £200.

The family are living in a two-bedroom static caravan until the site, which will include a wind turbine and solar panels to produce up to half the electricity it needs, is built.

Mr Recchia, 56, said: "We expected the bills to be about £30 to £40 a month. We just couldn't believe it when we saw how much they were charging us.

"I have no idea how much we are supposed to owe npower, but it must be several thousand pounds."

He said he has made more than 100 phone calls to npower asking them to sort the problem out, but the monthly bills just keep on coming.

He said: "It is totally unfair, we have never been given any explanation. It has been one hell of a battle, but we are not going to give up."

The couple have complained to Energywatch, the national watchdog for gas and electricity customers. But despite their intervention, npower failed to explain the high bills.

They have written to Energy Minister Brian Wilson about their plight.

Mr Recchia said that they are now considering taking legal action against npower. They have refused to pay any of the bills until the matter is resolved.

A spokeswoman for npower said: "We very much want to get to the bottom of this. We are treating the problem as a matter of urgency." She said the company would be apologising to Mr Recchia in writing.

Last week the Evening Press reported that York pensioner Lol Lea of Acomb received an incorrect electricity bill for £2,500 from npower. But an Energywatch spokeswoman said consumers experienced problems with billing right across the energy industry, not just with npower.

She said: "Billing is a significant problem as there are so many things that can go wrong, from inaccurate meter readings to bills being in the wrong name."

Updated: 11:08 Thursday, March 06, 2003