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A Scottish power company has admitted trying to get blood out of a stone - after sending a bill to an ancient Highland standing stone.
The Suenos Stone, on the outskirts of Forres, Morayshire, has been floodlit since 1993 and the electricity bill is forwarded to Historic Scotland.
But a mix-up meant the most recent bill was sent directly to Suenos Stone,Findhorn Road, Forres. The envelope was even marked with the stone's postcode and a postal worker attempted to deliver the letter. The stone is about 1100-years-old
Finding no letter box, he knocked on the glass door only to receive a stony silence. Confused, he re-directed it to the local council office, which has promised to send it on to the stone's custodians, Historic Scotland.
The bill shows the stone consumed £175 worth of electricity over the last six months and that it has somehow managed to get to the bank to make a payment of £230, leaving its account in credit. Scottish Hydro-Electric has sorted out the mix-up and promised that Scotland's largest surviving relic of the picts will not be bothered again.
Spokesman Darren Kirby said: "The supply has been there since 1993 and we have been happily sending out bills to Historic Scotland, but for some reason the billing address has been changed to the supply address. It looks like human error. The stone is housed in glass
"Had the bills not been paid I doubt we would have started legal proceedings, mainly because the stone is in credit - it must have managed to get to the bank and pay something in." The 23ft stone, which dates back to the ninth century, is housed in a special glass building and is visible from the main Inverness to Aberdeen road.
At night drivers on the A96 can see it in all its glory thanks to a 10,000 watt system of floodlights. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/scotland/newsid_1170000/1170273.stm Wednesday, 14 February, 2001, 15:50 GMT
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