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A dad-of-three lost two celebrity autographs after his dog ripped them up when the postman put them through the letter box rather than asking for a signature.

Bryan Garner, 38, of Sutton-in-Ashfield, was expecting the delivery of a “rare” signed autograph from famous Superman actor Christopher Reeve.

The item was supposed to be delivered via Royal Mail’s Signed For service, which means its should have been signed for, rather than posted through the letter box.

However when it arrived on Tuesday, February 6, he said the postman signed for it, rather than knocking on the door to collect a signature, and put it through the letter box.

This meant his small pet dog called Toto reached the mail before his wife and tore up the autograph, which he estimates was “easily worth a couple of hundred pounds”.

(Image: Angela Ward)

The Tesco retail manager said that this is not the first time the postman has signed on their behalf. He said he has previously lost a signed autograph from actor Jack Haley who played the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz in the same way a couple of weeks ago.

He said: “After the first time we noticed we complained and they reassured us it would not happen again. I took them at their word.

“Then yesterday morning he just posted without knocking. By the time we got to the door the dog was halfway through the envelope.

“They told me maybe I should think about getting a cage but I do not think that’s the point.”

He said he had been offered compensation but as he had managed to buy the Reeve’s autograph for “a really good price” he would not find again, this would not cover how much he had really lost.

“You would think Royal Mail would follow their own rules,” he added.

“I just do not want it happening to anyone else. If it was someone’s photos they could have lost them, they need to take care of the post.”

After contacting the Post about his story he said he received a phone call from the Royal Mail apologising for what happened, saying that they were looking in to it and offering him £150 in compensation.

He said that this was lower than he could have sold it for but he felt they had now gone “above and beyond” to help.

(Image: Angela Ward)

However he added that he was “shocked” it had taken complaining twice and speaking to the Post to get them to respond.

A spokeswoman for the Royal Mail said: “Royal Mail apologises to Mr Garner that he has not received the high quality of service we are committed to deliver to our customers.

“We are speaking directly with Mr Garner about the issue and have reminded the postman in question and all staff at the local office of the correct delivery procedures for signed-for items."

The spokeswoman added: “On these occasions, the postman did not follow the correct delivery procedures.”

Royal Mail’s webite states that its Signed For service gives you “the peace of mind that comes with knowing that an important item has arrived safely”.

It means that the person getting it should be asked to sign for the item when it is delivered.

It is more expensive than normal post, costing £4.35 to send a small parcel weighing 1kg first class rather than £3.35 for the same but unsigned.