Trim lavender bush or we'll stop deliveries, Post Office tells woman

Marie Zadeh was astonished when she was sent a letter warning her to cut back the garden shrubbery - or make other arrangements to get her post.

Bosses at Royal Mail said she had to prune the shrub because her postman was having difficulty getting to her letter box.

The mum-of-two, who works as a gardener, said: "It is just ridiculous.

"I think these new health and safety laws are going a bit too far. It all seems so unnecessary."

The letter read: "We are currently experiencing great difficulty in delivering your post due to the overgrown bushes in your pathway leading to your front door.

"I have an obligation to all my staff to ensure their health and safety at all times and this is now in breach of this.

"I would appreciate it if you could trim these bushes back to enable our staff easy access to your front door." Mrs Zadeh, from Hove, West Sussex, said: "There is nothing in my garden that would cut the post men and women or strangle them or do them any harm at all.

"If the postmen happened to touch a bit of lavender it really is not going to hurt him in anyway at all.

"It might be a bit overgrown because it has just flowered but it is beautiful. It is not so overgrown that it is going to stop people getting through."

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said: "Access to the customer's letter box was blocked by overgrown bushes and this made it very difficult for the postmen to deliver.

"We contacted the customer. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused but the safety of our staff is of prime importance."