An Eynsham pensioner who found himself being charged higher car insurance premiums after the Post Office changed his postcode has received a refund, thanks to the Oxford Mail .

Donald Coleman, 73, sought help after his insurance broker told him premiums on his W Reg Ford Focus had leapt thanks to the change.

Now the company, Zurich, has authorised a refund for Mr Coleman who also contacted West Oxfordshire MP David Cameron about his plight.

Mr Coleman, a retired city of London bank manager, says other motorists in the area may also be in line for the small windfall.

He said: "Thanks for your article. You will be pleased to know that because of the combined efforts of your paper and David Cameron we have a result.

"Zurich say that OX29 will revert to the same status as the old OX8. Now I have received an £11 refund."

Mr Coleman, who has lived at the same address in Acre End, Eynsham, for the last 18 years, originally asked the Oxford Mail : "Why should people be landed with extra costs when they continue to live in the same area?"

Motor underwriter for private insurance at Zurich Liz Maxwell said: "Anyone in the OX29 are should check with their broker to make sure that their insurer has the correct postcode. It is usual practice for insurance companies to use postcodes when setting premiums."

So all motorists living in the former OX8 area, changed to OX29 in December 2000, may now be paying more for their car insurance .

A spokesman for Royal Mail said: "We really do only use the postcodes for purposes of delivering mail and we have no control over how other people use them.

"But in the past when postcodes have changed and premiums have risen as a result, insurance companies have lowered their premiums to previous levels.

"There was even a case that went to the ombudsman who found in favour of the householder."