A Bushey mother has criticised Royal Mail after she was forced to collect several packages because they were not delivered to her flat.

Georgina Carapiet, of Lancelot Court, last month waited at home on several occasions for the delivery of some toys she bought online for her two-year-old son Andrew.

But each time, she discovered that although the postman had been, he had failed to buzz her flat and simply left a card instructing her to collect it from the Royal Mail depot a few miles away.

The 27-year-old said: "I have to pay postage and packaging when I order things on Ebay so it is frustrating if I have to go and collect it myself.

"I asked if they could deliver it to my post office, which is much closer, but they told me that would cost £1.50 per item, which is a bit much.

"It seems discriminatory to people in flats if the postman won't make the effort to try and deliver parcels. I don't drive so it is not easy for me to get to the depot, especially with Andrew."

When Ms Carapiet rang Royal Mail to ask why the postman would not buzz her flat, she claims she was told it was "above and beyond the call of duty".

This has since been denied by Royal Mail, which issued this statement: "Our very clear policy is to deliver all packets and parcels to our customers' addresses just as we deliver letters.  

"If there are any specific instances of this not happening then we would urge customers to contact us through our customer service team on 08457 740 740 or via our website: www.royalmail.com with the full details of any specific incidents so that the complaint can be properly logged and investigated.”

Ms Carapiet says her regular postman always rings the doorbell to her flat, but he had been on holiday during the time the parcels failed to be delivered.

She added: "I could understand if I lived on the 25th floor but it's not much effort to just ring the bell. I just feel the customers have not been taken into consideration in this instance."