DEJECTED mother Carol Whitby today criticised Royal Mail after they robbed her son of a "one-off" chance to see England play in Ipswich.Mrs Whitby, of Palfrey Heights, Brantham, tried for two-and-a-half hours on the telephone to get tickets to see England play Croatia but was met with a constant engaged tone.

DEJECTED mother Carol Whitby today criticised Royal Mail after they robbed her son of a "one-off" chance to see England play in Ipswich.

Mrs Whitby, of Palfrey Heights, Brantham, tried for two-and-a-half hours on the telephone to get tickets to see England play Croatia but was met with a constant engaged tone.

She had given up all hope of getting the tickets for her son Jamie, eight, and husband Charles, 38.

But when she saw The Evening Star competition, she viewed it as her last chance.

She completed the entry form and sent off a stamped addressed postcard – only to find it returned to her three days later.

The explanation she was given from Royal Mail was that a machine had franked the wrong side, meaning the postman returned it to them. This was despite the stamp being on the opposite side.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Mrs Whitby, who said: "I was just so disappointed. We'd tried so hard to get those tickets and so when I saw the competition I thought I'd go for it.

"A chance in a million is better than no chance at all but now Royal Mail have even robbed us of that."

A Royal Mail spokesman said they had no record of Mrs Whitby's complaint but said they would investigate it.

Have you had similar problems with Royal Mail? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk or join the forum at www.eveningstar.co.uk