A THOUGHTLESS van driver prevented the mail from being collected last Thursday evening during FolkWeek after parking too close for the postman to open the postbox.

A THOUGHTLESS van driver prevented the mail from being collected last Thursday evening during FolkWeek after parking too close for the postman to open the postbox.

Resident Guy Peters posted a letter in the box, which is sited at the junction of Glen Road and Bickwell Valley and photographed the obstruction.

A Royal Mail spokesman confirmed the evening collection at 6.45pm had been logged as 'failed'.

"It is very rare this happens, it is a one-off. If the van had parked there every night it would be a different situation."

He said each postbox had a barcode inside which the postie has to 'zap' to keep an on-going record over a five-week period.

"This is the only one logged for the whole area, which includes Torquay and Exeter, during those five weeks," said the spokesman.

The mail was collected mid-morning the following day and the later evening collection was unaffected.

Any mail delayed by the failed collection would have been delayed by just one day, said the spokesman.