Missing Harry Potter painting prompts Parcelforce apology Published duration 11 February 2017

image copyright Hannah Weston image caption The Harry Potter painting took artist Hannah Weston "several days over the course of two months" to complete

A 4ft-high painting of Harry Potter worth £700 has "vanished" in the post - leaving its creator short of a few Galleons.

Hannah Weston, 26, said it took her several days to complete the 4ft by 3ft (1.2m by 0.9m) homage to the boy wizard.

But the painting never made it to the Parcelforce depot near her Norwich home.

The firm said it was "unable to locate" it and offered £125 in compensation.

Tattoo artist Ms Weston, 26, said the situation was "incredibly disheartening".

"I poured days of my time, energy and passion into that huge painting," Ms Weston told the BBC.

"I painted Harry out of pure adoration for stories that have brought me joy and I hope that it ends up in the hands of someone who truly appreciates it."

She sold the painting to a woman who planned to give it to her daughter, who was "obsessed with the Harry Potter books", as a birthday present.

'Ridiculous compensation'

Parcelforce came to pick up the parcel from Ms Weston's home, but when the buyer called to say she had not received the painting, the artist found out it had never arrived at the depot.

A nationwide depot search was carried out but the painting was never found.

"The compensation I was offered - £125 - was ridiculous given that it wasn't an error or damage," Ms Weston said.

"The claims process was near impossible and I ended up having to borrow money to cover everything."

Ms Weston said she had not reported the incident to police as she had been told a missing parcel was not counted as a stolen item.

In a statement, a Parcelforce spokeswoman apologised to Ms Weston "that she has not received the service she expected and deserved from Parcelforce".