The plight of families facing demands to give back alleged overpayments of tax credits has been highlighted by South West Beds MP Andrew Selous.

Mr Selous told fellow MPs in the House of Commons about families in his constituency who were being pursued for repayments adding up to thousands of pounds.

Later, he said: "I recognise the important boost to family income that tax credits give. Some of my constituents, however, have told me that they will never claim them again because of the repayment problems they have encountered, and we must solve this problem."

In the Commons, he asked Treasury ministers to look again at families in this position.

The MP said: "I still have a steady stream of families coming to my surgery who are being chased, sometimes for up to £10,000 or more.

"They come in with detailed files of information and I am absolutely inclined to believe that they have been entirely honourable and honest in looking at their claims."

Stephen Timms, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, told Mr Selous: "We have already made some substantial changes and improvements to the way the tax credit system works."

He added: "I accept that there is more to be done, but it is worth remembering that six million families benefit from tax credits, and that includes 10 million children.

"That is one of the main reasons why we have been able to reduce child poverty so substantially over the past 10 years, but we need to ensure that the system works as efficiently as possible and that overpayments are minimised.

"We have seen a big reduction in the number of overpayments, and we will work to improve the position further."