STUDENT nurses at nine universities have had their loans and grants cut off or reduced after they were previously paid too much by mistake.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has written to the Student Loans Company (SLC) urging it to write off overpayments over fears that those affected may be unable to pay their rent.

The RCN said least 100 second and third-year nursing students had received letters from the SLC stating expected payments would be reduced or stopped in order to recover the overpayments.

They said that a number of students had queried payments when they were made but were told that they were correct.

RCN chief executive Janet Davies said she was “very concerned about the considerable amount of distress and disruption this error and subsequent action is causing.”

An SLC spokesman said they were investigating the error and would use their powers to “defer the recovery action, if appropriate.”