An online shopper was left bemused after a careless courier left a parcel on top of the roof of his home.

Benjamin Ward, 34, from Hove in East Sussex, returned home to find a note which explained: “Stuck on roof- sorry!”

The father shared a picture of the brief apology, from an employee of delivery company MyHermes, on his Twitter page.

<noframe>Twitter: Benjamin1980 - Thanks <a href="http://www.twitter.com/myhermes" target="_blank">@myhermes</a> for delivering my parcel so it's 20ft high stuck to the roof! Great care taken! <a href="https://twitter.com/search?src=hash&q=%23Hermes" target="_blank">#Hermes</a> <a href="http://t.co/zN4IhCq95d" target="_blank">http://t.co/zN4IhCq95d</a></noframe>

<noframe>Twitter: myhermes - <a href="http://www.twitter.com/benjamin1980" target="_blank">@benjamin1980</a> can confirm we&rsquo;re speaking with our field team now, this is unacceptable and we&rsquo;re on it. Again, we do offer our apologies</noframe>

<noframe>Twitter: myhermes - <a href="http://www.twitter.com/benjamin1980" target="_blank">@benjamin1980</a> Hi Benjamin, we have confirmation that your local courier is currently on his way back to your address with a ladder to (1/2)</noframe>

A second snap of the parcel stuck in the guttering of his house, along with the message, has been retweeted more than 3,000 times.

Other: 'Stuck on roof- sorry!' Picture: @benjamin1980

MyHermes issued an apology to Mr Ward and sent the courier back to his house with a ladder to retrieve the parcel of clothes he ordered online.

“I laughed. It's just ridiculous. I think he must have been trying to lob it over the house,” he told The Argus.

“They sent him back to get it down with a ladder and say sorry. It was super awkward.