Wedding dress parcel 'swiped' from Aldershot bride's doorstep

A bride-to-be has been left devastated after a parcel containing her dream wedding dress was stolen from her doorstep.

Becky Herbert, from Aldershot in Hampshire, ordered the £250 garment ahead of her wedding in August.

But just minutes after it was delivered to her house at 14:30 GMT on 3 February, it vanished.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary has urged anyone with information to get in touch.

Having spotted the second-hand gown on Vinted, which was ivory with a lace train, the 34-year-old fell in love.

"I always knew as soon as we started planning the wedding that I wanted a pre-loved dress," she said. "It was exactly what I'd been looking for."

After receiving an email from courier Evri showing a photo of the parcel outside her house, Ms Herbert hurriedly asked a neighbour to collect it.

But within 30 minutes of its delivery, she said the parcel had been "swiped".

The betrothed couple live in a row of houses sitting close to the road, meaning any parcels left outside are visible to passers-by.

"I had requested that the parcel was not delivered to the door and set an alternative safe space which had been acknowledged by the courier - but they still just dumped it on the doorstep," she said.

Ms Herbert said she had been shocked and angry at the situation - and reported it to police.

"I know the courier didn't know the significance of the item, nor did the person who took the parcel, but the whole thing just felt quite reckless," she said.

Despite deciding on a simple wedding, she said the situation had given her "sleepless nights" - and it felt like things were spinning out of control.

"For a while, I really thought as soon as someone opened it to find it was a wedding dress, they'd do the honourable thing and return it."

After several days Evri agreed to refund the money, accepting there was "no clear evidence that the parcel was delivered securely", Ms Herbert said.

Evri told the BBC it had apologised to Ms Herbert and had given her a "goodwill payment".

It added it had followed up with the courier involved to provide additional training to help ensure the incident was not repeated.

But with the wedding countdown on, the bride has been forced to find a different dress.

"It was a design from a few years ago and is now discontinued, so [I was] unlikely to find another," she said.

"It felt like a waste of such a beautiful dress. I never got to touch it or put it on, even though it was sat there on my doorstep."

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