A SINGLE mum who quit her job to pursue a financially stable career could face being thousands of pounds out of pocket due to an "error".

Four months after starting a course at the University of Cumbria, 29-year-old Farina Harris, of Ambleside, was told her yearly financial support would be almost halved despite having been offered the full entitlement by Student Finance England (SFE) in August.

But now the mum-of-one has been left in limbo and will have to cough up £8,000 of her own money if she wants to continue the course, or lose the £9,769 she has already spent if she decides to leave.

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"This is a debt I cannot currently afford to pay back, nor could I in the near future as I would be leaving to go into unemployment or part-time low paid work - if I could find a job straight away," said Ms Harris, who looks after her seven-year-old daughter Holly Engleby.

Ms Harris gave up freelancing as a youth worker and a part-time cleaning job one week before starting an Applied Psychology degree in September.

"It was now or never for me," she said.

In December Ms Harris, who completed a Foundation Degree in 2012, was informed she was no longer eligible for full finance due to an SFE "previous study" clause where students are only entitled to four years of support.

"If I had been told any of this I would never have embarked on the course as I could by no means afford to fund it myself," she said.

The revised settlement which slashes her £8,000 fee loan entirely and cuts her maintenance support by around £4,225, was notified to Ms Harris on her online account.

The mature student lodged an appeal earlier this month which was rejected, and she has since put in a second appeal but is awaiting a response.

SFE said it would consider waiving £2,500 spent already on tuition fees if she stays or leaves.

In the meantime, Ms Harris is studying from home and checking in with her tutor over the phone.

"I had the next four years planned out and now I'm trying to think of a plan B."

Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron has written to the Chief Executive of SFE.

A spokesman from the Students' Loans Company said: "The mistake in Miss Harris' assessment was a result of human error, we sincerely apologise for the difficulties caused."

“When mistakes like this occur we seek to address the cause appropriately to prevent this from happening in the future.”