Paul Edwards, 52, was left baffled after the magazine finally arrived almost two decades late.
A father who ordered a parenting magazine for his young family in 2007 has finally received it 19 years later. Paul Edwards, 52, said he bought a copy of Mother & Baby while his daughter was just 18 months and his son was due to be born three months later.
But the parcel never arrived - until Friday when it dropped through the letter box with a message from Royal Mail apologising "for any inconvenience caused".
"Like a lot of relatively new parents, you sign up for subscriptions for things to give you advice, offers and provide things to do with the children - then obviously everyone realises you have to work it out for yourself," he told the BBC. "I'm not sure we realised at the time that the magazine was missing.
Then it's suddenly arrived in the post.
"You get a half-torn screwed up bag and you think, 'what on Earth is this', with the 'sincere apologies' on it. " Royal Mail said it checks its delivery offices and sorting machines daily and it was likely the magazine had been somehow put back into the postal system by someone, rather than lost.
Edwards, an author from Chester, said he was currently "racing to the door all the time" while awaiting news of potential publishing deals for his science-fiction books.
"It just really tickled me - it's the contradiction," he said. "What really got me was the 'apologies for the inconvenience'. My two children have now left home.
" A post by Edwards about the incident on X has now had some 1.5 million views and nearly 60,000 likes, with many users replying with their own experiences of late deliveries. Edwards said he was "amazed" by the reaction, adding: "I guess a big part of British culture is to complain about the post or trains being late, so it rings true for so many.
"A spokesman said: "Once an item is in the postal system then it will be delivered to the address. "Over the last year more than 92% of letters arrived on time and over 99% within seven working days. "But he condeded it was "inevitable things go missing" and "thankfully this wasn't that important". As for his children, he added: "They just think it's bizarre and of course are more interested in the social media frenzy.
"I've had a few people telling me to stick it on eBay, but that's not me. I'll just chuck it in the bin. "
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