An eight-year-old boy ran up a £700 bill watching Minecraft videos - after his iPad hooked up to a premium contract net connection during a power outage.

Aaron Little got into "big, big trouble" for watching clips on YouTube after mother Lyndsey, 39, was sent a bill for the data he used at their home in Edinburgh.

The youngster usually watches videos online via the family's WiFi but plumbing works at his flat forced labourers to turn off the power supply, causing the device to automatically connect to the 3G network.

Vodafone demanded that Ms Little, who has four children, pay £718.59 within a week, warning that unless she did her contracts would be terminated and the bill raised to £1,209.14.

She has been unable to pay, so has now been landed with the bigger figure.

Aaron said: "We just got a big, big, bill and we have to pay. I'm upset because I didn't know about it. I only know because my mum told me."

Ms Little, who is on benefits, said she was devastated by the bumper bill run up by her youngest son.

She said: "We are trying hard to stay afloat with bills and stay on top of things. Then a bill for £700 came out of nowhere. It said that if I didn't pay within a week, they'd cut off everything and I would have to pay £1,200.

"I sat Aaron down in the car when he came back from school. He cried and cried and said he was sorry. He's only eight and it wasn't his fault.

"I don't know what we can do. It's upset the whole family."

Aaron ran up the bill when he accidentally connected to the premium network while council workers put a new shower into his flat over three days in early August.

Ms Little, who has been a ­Vodafone customer for 12 years, tried to discuss the situation with staff at the company's store on Princes Street, Edinburgh. She explained the bill amounted to three-quarters of the family's monthly income and that they could not afford to pay the weekly minimum instalments of £60.

But Vodafone employees told her she was responsible for paying off her son's debt.

Ms Little said: "Everything on the iPad was password-locked to avoid hidden charges or inappropriate content.

"I went in to see Vodafone and they said the iPad was working fine and that the problem had been caused by my son. I wish Vodafone would tell you upfront about these little loopholes in the system. These devices should have a £100 cut off to protect families with low incomes."

A spokeswoman for Vodafone said: "Although we understand that it was Ms Little's eight-year-old son who used the data, the account is in Ms Little's name and the responsibility for the account and acharges remain with her.

"We sent a message to the device at 11.05pm to alert the customer they had only 50MB of data left and further usage would be charged at £6.50 for every additional 250MB used.

"We sent a further message at 11.53pm that evening to alert the customer that an extra 250MB was almost used. Finally, on August 2, we sent a third message at 12.45pm to warn the customer that a further extra 250MB was almost all gone.

"We would be prepared to arrange a payment plan with her.

"Customers are responsible for their own spending and we would always advise them to monitor usage - especially if the phone is being used by a child."

A spokesman for Citizens Advice Scotland added: "Anyone who is in debt of any kind can get free confidential advice their local Citizens Advice Bureau.