COUNCIL workers are richer by nearly £200,000 due to a pay-packet bungle.

Some of the authority’s workforce has netted the increase through overpaid wages during a year – but now finance bosses want the cash back.

In the year to February, 386 Bromley council employees received salary windfalls totalling £192,300.

Forty of these overpayments – worth more than £37,000 – were unintentionally pocketed by schools staff.

A full cash recovery operation is underway but to date only £57,200 has been recouped – just over a quarter of the missing money.