Postcard Arrives Years Late At Wrong Address

Snail mail turned up Louise Newland's home...and it wasn't even for her!

She was astonished when a postcard was mailed through the letterbox on to the doormat at her house in England - 24 years after it was posted.

The card started its time travel in Surrey in May 1976,with a six-and-a-half pence turquoise stamp.

It was addressed to the former elderly owner of the house,and was sent by a friend of hers holidaying in Chiddingfold.

"It took me a minute to realise,and then I thought 'wow'," said Louise,whose family now live at the address.

"But what's even funnier is that my son is a postman.We can't wait to rib him about it.

"We are intrigued about where this postcard has been all this time and why it has now come to light.It's in perfect condition.It's a real mystery."

The card,with a picture of the church in Chiddingfold on the front,is addressed to Alice Ferrington,who owned the house before the Newlands bought their property in 1978.

"She was a sweet old lady in her 80s,who has now sadly died,but the wording on the card is obviously from a friend" said Louise.

A spokesperson from the Royal Mail said "It's fascinating but we'll probably never get to the bottom of it.

"And funnily enough there's been another postcard which arrived at a Hampshire address this week,after more than 30 years.

"Sometimes packages sent in the post by postcard dealers accidentally split open and these cards are therefore treated as mail in their own right."