LITTLE Tallulah Halls has become a victim of postal theft after someone stole a £50 gift from her birthday card.

The cash was inside a pink envelope her Granddad had sent from Taunton to celebrate the Christchurch Junior School pupil’s ninth birthday on Wednesday.

But Tallulah’s mother Sam was horrified to discover someone had tampered with the card and stolen the money as it made its way through the postal system.

Sam said: “The card arrived in a sealed plastic bag which said ‘Sorry it’s reached you in this condition. If anything is missing please contact us.’ “You could see where they had tried to get in one side of the envelope and then when they realised they had got the wrong end of the card, they cut the other side and found the money.

“She is a little nine-year-old girl and, although she is a very lucky girl, this money was for her.

“Her granddad works hard to earn his money and £50 is an awful lot of money to lose.”

Sam, of Calkin Close in Christchurch, said: “They are paid to sort mail and deliver it, not pilfer people’s belongings.”

Sam says she is also angry with the Post Office who didn’t apologise when she called and simply said cash and valuable items should be sent by special delivery and not first class.

“I certainly wasn’t aware of this but now I am and I just want other people to know so they don’t have the same thing happen to them.

“They also said they would take the details and look into it but wouldn’t let me know if they found the person responsible. And we won’t be getting the money back.”

Royal Mail spokesman Mike Norman said: “Our customer service team are aware of the details of this incident and will investigate this matter fully.

“While the huge bulk of all mail arrives safely and on time at the right address, and Royal Mail has a zero tolerance approach to any form of dishonesty, our strong advice is that when sending money through the post we recommend customers use our special delivery service which provides a certificate of posting, tracking of the item, signature on delivery and appropriate compensation.

“We are very sorry for the upset this incident has caused.”

• Have you been affected by money missing in the post?

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