A 96-year-old man has struggled in vain get his records corrected after he was classed as dead.

Reg Turnill, organiser of Sandgate’s annual H.G. Wells Writing Competition, had to make endless but fruitless phone calls to rectify the mistake, the source of which is not yet clear.

Living and healthy, Mr Turnill said: "What I first regarded as a bit of a joke has become a nightmare."

Mr Turnill, of Hillside, Sandgate on April 5 received a letter from The Phone Co-op, the company that bills him for telephone calls routed through Saga.

It was addressed to "the executor" and said: "Thank you for notifying us of the death of R Turnill; please accept our sympathy for your recent loss."

It said it would send a final bill and asked for a confirming death certificate.

Mr Turnill spend days on the phone to rectify the mistake. Phone Co-op apologised and produced a photocopy of a document circulated from Bacs (the Bankers Automated Clearing Services).

It was dated March 15 and announced that he was deceased. But it is not certain where the misinformation originated.

Mr Turnill is a former BBC aerospace correspondent who covered man’s first landing on the moon in 1969. He even had to call his former employers to make sure his pension was not stopped.

He added: "After lengthy battles with robots, I managed to speak to someone at the Bacs services desk."

The trail of confusion then led to his bank, Barclays.

It is now known that Barclays had not input information saying he was dead, but its customers service department advised him to contact his Folkestone branch.

Mr Turnill said his branch manager made several phone calls to solve the problem but, despite her efforts, without success.

She advised him to try Experian Consumer Credit Services.

He said: "Experian refused to talk to her, or to receive or return a call from me, on the grounds that this would breach the Data Protection Act.

"I find it almost impossible to get the death notice revoked.

The letter received by Mr Turnill, informing him of his 'death'

"I am reduced to studying the obituary notices, hoping for a favourable review of my long and busy life. I also have a suit ready for my funeral - if the Data Protection Act does not prevent me knowing where it will be."

On investigation, Experian confirmed that its’ own records show Mr Turnill as alive and well.

The company expressed regret at his "understandable concerns" and double-checked his credit report to clear up the matter.

A Bacs spokesman said: "Mr Turnill has our sincere sympathy for what must have proved a shock.

"Unfortunately, I’m afraid we’re unable to shed any light on this. The document referred to is most likely something known as an Automated Return of Unpaid Direct Debit (ARUDD) notice.

"This is generated by a bank to advise the biller when a direct debit is returned unpaid.

"Bacs does not input into the document but simply acts as the carrier for the information, from bank to biller, much as the Royal Mail carries letters."