Payment provider Worldpay said the date of the transaction, beginning with 21 for 2021, was inadvertently processed as the transaction amount.

The issue affected hundreds of people who will now be refunded, ITV News reports.

Anne Ackord, chief executive of the Brighton Pier Group, said: “As soon as we discovered that this serious error had occurred we entered into discussions with Worldpay – who have accepted full responsibility – to ensure that refunds are processed without delay.

“The money wrongly debited from our customers’ bank accounts will be refunded by Worldpay at the earliest opportunity and any associated bank charges that they might have incurred will also be returned to their accounts.”