AN ELDERLY widow feared one of her children had been in a road accident when police got her out of bed late at night.

But Norma Rose's anxiety turned to anger when she was confronted by the two officers - and they said they were following up a report she had left a filling station without paying for her petrol.

Mrs Rose, 75, had called earlier in the day at the Tesco filling station at Clifton Moor, York, where she used her Halifax current account card to fill up her BMW car with £20-worth of fuel.

A Tesco spokeswoman said Mrs Rose had put her card in to pay but has unwittingly pressed the 'pay at kiosk' button as well. She said Tesco security staff got the car's registration number from the forecourt's CCTV footage and contacted the police.

She said: "It was a genuine error and we will be contacting Mrs Rose to apologise for the undue stress it caused.

"We will not be asking Mrs Rose for the £20 as a gesture of goodwill."

Mrs Rose's son, David, of Tockwith, near York, said: "I'm furious. My mother, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, has been accused of stealing petrol, and to top it all the police come round to her house and bang on the door at 10.45pm to investigate what is a relatively minor offence.

"I have lodged a complaint with both Tesco and the police."

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said officers went to Mrs Rose's home in the afternoon, but got no answer and therefore had to return later.

He said it appeared to be a mistake and officers left Mrs Rose to sort it out with Tesco.

He said: "Unfortunately we didn't have a crystal ball that would have told us she was 75 years old and of impeccable character, and had a problem with her credit card."

Mother-of-four Mrs Rose, who has three grandchildren, lives in Church Fenton, near Tadcaster.

She said her fellow villagers were "up in arms" about the incident, asking where the police were when they really needed them.

She said: "The machine registers your card and asks if you would like a receipt. I put my card back in but didn't get a receipt, and because of the huge queue behind me I decided not to bother.

"When the police banged on my door I was in my nightie. I even asked them if they wanted to put handcuffs on me.

"I have worked as a counsellor for over 40 years, including working for West Yorkshire Police. Everyone makes mistakes, but this is unbelievable.

"This incident will now be recorded on police files, which is very disconcerting."

Updated: 10:05 Thursday, April 14, 2005