Widow reunites with teddies after postal mix-up
Marilyn TaylorTwo "completely irreplaceable" teddy bears that went missing in the post on their way to Devon have been found in Scotland.
The teddies were specially made by a business in Liverpool using the ties of Marilyn Taylor's late husband Alistair, but never made it to her home in Torbay after being posted by the company in early October.
Mrs Taylor said she and her postwoman had both cried when she finally got to open the package containing the bears on 11 November, after they were found at a depot in Scotland.
Royal Mail said staff had been searching for the items since they went missing.
Royal Mail investigated and sent posters to depots to help locate the parcel, eventually tracking it down to a depot in Glasgow on 8 November, Mrs Taylor said.
She said she had been devastated when the bears went missing as she had used all of her husband's ties to make them.
They had been posted with tracking and a signature, she said.
"Julia, the lady who made the bears, was in contact with me all the time," Mrs Taylor said.
"There was a gentleman from the depot up there who was keeping in touch with her and telling her what was going on.
"He really wasn't going to let it go at all."
'Burst into tears'
Mrs Taylor said "nobody knows" how they had ended up in Scotland.
"These packages are really big, bright pink, so how they managed to get lost, I have no idea," she said.
When she finally received her parcel, she decided to open it with her postwoman.
"It was really quite emotional. She was thrilled for me, obviously so was I because these are completely irreplaceable," she said.
"I burst into tears and my post lady joined me."
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "Our colleagues have been actively searching for these items since they went missing and we are very pleased that we were able to reunite them with the customer."
Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].