‘KCC ruined my marriage by paying me too much’ - that’s the price Paul Carter had to pay for having the same name as the council leader, after he was mistakenly overpaid more than £20,000.

Mr Carter, 54, says he was none the wiser when Kent County Council paid him allowances of £21,398 intended for Councillor Paul Carter, in addition to his own salary as a maintenance fitter.

Only £769 of the allowance has so far been recovered, meaning Dartford and Gravesham taxpayers have had to foot the bill for the remaining £20,629.

The blunder has been labelled an "administrative error" by KCC, who failed to notice the salary mix-up and paid him the increased amount from September 2007 to March 2008.

Mr Carter, who only found out the reason for the overpayment last week, was subsequently asked to repay the amount by KCC.

He says the council knocked his salary down to £17,000 a year and started to dock £200 a month from his pay.

Mr Carter also says the stress eventually caused his marriage to break up, claiming his wife doubted he had not been aware of the mix-up.

Speaking from his new home in China, the father-of-one said: "My marriage broke down because my wife did not believe me.

"I was not in a very good frame of mind so I handed my one month’s notice in.

"My head was in bits over everything that was happening."

Mr Carter says he found out about the overpayment when the council called him on his day off.

He said: "They asked me to pay it back.

"I said of course, but when I got home, I checked on my computer and couldn’t see any overpayment.

"It must have been happening for months because there wasn’t any discrepancy in my pay."

Mr Carter stayed in the area for one year while he worked for another company and got his divorce finalised.

He insists he tried to resolve the money issue by taking the case to county court, but claims the council refused.

Explaining how he didn't realise he was getting overpaid, he said: "An agency set me up with the job and told him me I would be earning £20,000 plus bonus and overtime.

"It’s not a great deal of money for what I do but I took it anyway because I was jobless and living off my savings.

"I worked 12 to 14 hours a day so I didn’t notice any inconsistency."

Although he is in no position to pay back the money, as he earns little more than £260 a month, he is determined to clear his name.

He said: "I would be available to stand in court in front of this other Paul Carter and tell them my side of the story.

"I have not run away. If I had, I would have done it for a damn sight more that £20,000.

"It’s ludicrous."

KCC's director of human resources, Amanda Beer said: "We would welcome any chance to talk to Paul Carter, no matter where he is in the world.

"We would also be particularly pleased to discuss the reimbursement of £20,000 to Kent's taxpayers."