Couple get unwanted sex swap

3:45pm Tuesday 8th April 2008

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An April Fool's Day administrative error has seen an elderly husband and wife undergo an unwanted 'sex swap' on their new bus pass identity cards.

Pensioner Katrina Snelling, 85, got a shock when she opened her mail and found her new bus card carried a picture of her husband Gordon, 97.

And a day later, Mr Snelling's pass arrived bearing a photo of his wife of eight years.

Mrs Snelling said: "We doubled up with laughter when we first saw my pass arrive in the post. My husband joked that he better have my skirt.

"We were joking that his card would have my picture on it - and then a day later it happened. I told my husband I'll get him my skirt, but only if I can have his trousers."

However, the mix-up by the Vale of White Horse District Council means the couple's new passes are invalid for free, off-peak national bus travel, which began on April 1.

Mrs Snelling, from Kennington, said: "We thought it was comical at first. We had a good laugh about it. But it's going to cause me and my husband a real inconvenience to get these passes changed.

"Katrina obviously isn't a man's name, it is a woman's name. No wonder this country is in a muddle."

The former Didcot traffic warden added: "If people can get something as simple as this wrong, who knows what else they get wrong."

Vale council spokesman Gavin Walton said: "We are aware that a small number of residents have received national bus passes containing incorrect information or photographs.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this error and urge anyone who has had problems with their pass to let us know so we can arrange for a new card to be issued.

"In the meantime, eligible residents can continue to use their existing old style pass within Oxfordshire and in exceptional circumstances we are able to make arrangements for residents to travel outside the county free of charge."

One person who has made good use of his new bus pass is Roger Jenking.

The 60-year-old, from Headington, took a 10-hour trip from Oxford to Crewe to test the free national bus pass scheme on April 1.