Royal Mail ‘delivers’ children’s letter to their dad in heaven

A Royal Mail office manager has touched the hearts of two Scottish siblings in a moving way.

Every year Jase Hyndman (7) and his sister Nieve (10), from West Lothian in Scotland, send their late father a card on his birthday. Their dad, James, died on 24 May 2014.

The message on the envelope is written in a child’s handwriting: "Mr Postman, can you take this to heaven for my dad's birthday. Thanks."

Sean Milligan, from the Royal Mail in Bathgate, spotted the envelope this year. He opened it and read the message.

So he decided to do the kids a kindness by writing back to them on an official Royal Mail letterhead to reassure Jase that his letter had been delivered.

"I just wanted to take this opportunity to contact you about how we succeeded in the delivery of your letter to your dad in heaven. This was a difficult challenge avoiding stars and other galactic objects en route to heaven.

"Royal Mail's priority is to get our customers' mail delivered safely [and] I know how important your mail is to you. I will continue to do all I can to ensure delivery safely to heaven."

Teri Copeland, Jase and Nieve's mother, shared the special correspondence on her Facebook page, saying how much it meant to Jase and praises Sean for his kindness. "You didn't have to make the effort to do this," Teri writes on Facebook. "You could've just ignored it but the fact that you've made the effort for a little boy you've never met is such a lovely thing to do."

She goes on to say that Royal Mail has restored her faith in humanity and that this gesture has meant the world to Jase.

Teri told the BBC she’s been teaching Jesse and Nieve to send a card on someone's birthday or at Christmas.

Her Facebook post has been shared more than 270 000 times and more than 51 000 people commented.