Letter from Somerset arrives in Northumberland almost 30 years later

A letter that was posted nearly 30 years ago has finally reached its destination.

John Rainbow was "shocked" to get the letter from 1995 through his door in Wylam, Northumberland, after it was posted in Bridgwater, Somerset.

Mr Rainbow, 60, said: "We opened the letter, had a look at it and thought, 'Blimey, this is a bit strange'.

"It was for a previous resident of the house, they must've lived here at least 12 to 15 years ago."

The envelope has a Royal Mail first-class postage stamp and was franked in Bridgwater in 1995.

On the back is a 1995 franking stamp from Alnwick in Northumberland.

"It is in perfect condition, it's not like it's been lying around, it just looks old," Mr Rainbow said.

Mr Rainbow, who is retired and has lived in Wylam with his wife since 2015, said the letter was about family stories dating back to the 1880s, containing childhood memories, and how the writer's children had grown.

He said the letter came through the door with some other post and he did not think much of it at first.

"I thought, 'Ah, it is a Christmas card.' Then I noticed it was a letter and how old it is," he said.

"It is very strange, we have no connection to the person that was here."

Mr Rainbow explained the intended recipient, Valerie Jarvis-Read, lived at his property until about 2010 and the home had passed through several hands since.

Mr Rainbow said a neighbour had told him Mrs Jarvis-Read was a navigator for her husband who was in the armed forces in Le Mans, sometime after World War One.

The letter was sent by Somerset farmer Patrick Daniel, who has since died.

His son, Richard, told BBC Radio Newcastle the emergence of the late delivery was "bizarre" and he believed his father was replying to a letter from Mrs Jarvis-Read enquiring whether their families may be related.

"I think Valerie must've written a long letter to my father because she thought she might be related to us several generations back.

"My father said he enjoyed hearing about her far-flung family and that he thought he'd better tell her about his.

"This was my father's response. The tragedy is it never reached her."

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "Incidents like this happen very occasionally, and we are uncertain what happened to cause this incident in this instance.

"We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused."

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