A town councillor has been told to return £700 of ‘thank you’ payments he received since he started hosting a Ukrainian refugee in October 2022.

Giles Cattermole, 75, from Wallingford, has been asked by Oxfordshire County Council to repay the money unless he provides a valid driving licence for a DBS check.

Mr Cattermole claimed the police were in possession of his licence after he was caught speeding at 83mph on the M40, and he has provided a copy of his passport instead.

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However, a council spokesman said no passport had been received and that a driving licence that was provided was Kenyan and could not be accepted.

The spokesman added that the issue could be resolved if Mr Cattermole agrees to a social worker visit, but Mr Cattermole said he was prepared to go to court to refute the re-payments.

He said: “It is important that civil service is held to account and carry out their service in a way that is helpful to the public rather than themselves.”

Mr Cattermole has shared his home in Wallingford High Street with Olena Borova, 58, since her six-month placement with a family in Crowmarsh came to an end.

Ms Borova, who is from Kharkiv, described Mr Cattermole as an “excellent host”.

Mr Cattermole received ‘thank you’ payments of £350 each on November 24 and December 26, which he said were used to cover the cost of heating bills for Ms Borova’s bedroom.

He said he had been visited by council representatives up to six times who checked whether his home was suitable and asked for his identification.

In early November, he claimed a woman came to his door, took a photograph of his driving licence, confirmed it was in order, and left.

On February 23, he received an email from the council which said “several requests” had been made for his driving licence, and gave him until March 3 to provide it.

Mr Cattermole did not provide his licence in the timeframe and said he is now prepared to go to court over the repayments.

He said: “I don’t think they’re doing their job. I have heard other people with similar issues with bureaucracy.”

The council spokesman said: “The county council has followed the national government guidance. Under the terms of the scheme Mr Cattermole failed the safeguarding checks and was therefore not entitled to the sponsor payments.

“Despite many attempts, Mr Cattermole has never provided the correct documentation. We have never been presented with a UK passport and the driving licence presented was Kenyan.

“The guest chose to remain with Mr Cattermole despite being advised of the issues - as she has every right to do.”