WHEN Pete Bonney saw envelopes flooding through his letterbox last week, he was looking forward to reading cards from friends and family.

But sadly they weren’t all for him.

Two had been delivered to completely the wrong add-ress.

The 72-year-old Oxford community stalwart, who decorates his house with lights each Christmas in aid of charity, said: “I couldn’t believe it. The addresses on these two envelopes aren’t even similar.

“One is for North Way in Marston and another was supposed to be delivered in Witney.

“It’s disgraceful. They just chuck them through the door. Can they not even read?”

Mr Bonney, who lives in Wood Farm with wife Carol, said they had now taken the cards back to the post office to be delivered to the right addresses.

He will also be taking extra care with his own post in the run-up to Christmas.

He said: “I know these are probably just cards, but they could be a number of other things.

“It could be some money for a little girl’s present, a prescription or hospital appointment or a letter from a relative you haven’t seen in a long time.

“How many others have had things lost in the post? It causes a lot of heartache.”

The cards were sent to Oxfordshire from Somerset and Wales and will hopefully make the journey to their rightful owners in time for Christmas.

Mr Bonney added: “Something has to be done about this. It’s affecting thousands of people.

“Someone needs to speak out. So that’s what I’m doing.”

Last month, Oxford academic Dr Allan Chapman received a letter in the post that had been sent to him 31 months earlier.

Recent figures from Royal Mail show that 91 per cent of first-class letters in the Oxford postcode area arrive on time.

This is in line with the national average, also 91 per cent, but below Royal Mail’s full-year target of 93 per cent.

Royal Mail spokesman Valerie Antoine said: “We apologise for the misdelivery and the inconvenience this has caused. This was down to human error.

“We have put measures in place to ensure this does not happen again.

“Any customer who has concerns about their mail service should call us on 08457 740740.”

  • Have someone’s else’s Christmas cards or parcels been delivered at your home? Let us know. Call reporter Rhianne Pope on 01865 425411 or email her at rpope@oxfordmail.co.uk