An Oxford pensioner was disgusted when a letter arrived at her home cut in half - four months after she sent it to a sick friend.

Sheila Patterson, 70, sent the letter first class on April 19 from a postbox in Cowley centre as a get well message to her friend Poppy Bore.

She thought the letter would arrive at Mrs Bore's home, about two miles away in Glebelands, Headington, the next day.

It was only Friday that Mrs Patterson realised the letter never reached her friend - when it arrived back at her home in Church Cowley Road, Cowley.

The envelope had been opened at the bottom and the letter sliced in two.

Mrs Patterson said: "It was in a Royal Mail envelope, but there was no indication why it had been sent back to me. I couldn't believe it, it was ages ago that I sent it and now it comes back to me cut in half - it's disgusting."

Mrs Patterson's daughter, Sandra Paxford, of Desborough Crescent, Rose Hill, Oxford, contacted Royal Mail's customer services team and was told it was likely the letter was damaged by sorting equipment.

She said: "Mum has had a few strokes and can't get out of the house, so she relies on the post and telephone to keep in contact with her friends.

"Mrs Bore wasn't very well at the time and she sent the letter to perk her up, but now we've found out she never got it. What would have happened if it was a cheque or gift?"

Royal Mail spokesman Kieran Prescott apologised and advised Mrs Patterson to apply for compensation.

He said: "Unfortunately, due the way our sorting equipment works, sometimes there are damaged items. The returned post service is provided free, at a cost of £10m a year to us."