THIS is the "soul destroying" moment a Hermes driver leaves a "signed for" package in a bin – then the rubbish gets collected.

Gary Prebble paid extra to make sure the important parcel got from Southampton to Worcestershire safely, only to see it dropped into the giant wheelie and carted off to be destroyed a few hours later.

The box contained parts of the 50-year-old's race car which he had sent to his repairman Martin Hadland almost 150 miles away.

They were worth about £100 but were "vital" for Martin to fit a new part of the lower suspension.

On December 29, he forked out the extra couple of quid ensure the package arrived safely.

But footage from Bank Holiday Monday shows the Hermes delivery driver pulling into Martin's workshop in Redditch and plopping it into the bin.

CCTV shows him arriving at a shuttered Reyland Motorsport and walking towards the entrance at 10.46am.

He then clocks the large blue commercial bin and appears to hesitate for a moment before lifting the lid and placing it inside.

After snapping a photo to prove the parcel had been "delivered", the man then wanders back to his car and reverses out.

Footage from first thing the following day shows a blue Fortress Recycling truck drive into the loading area and empty the bin into it.

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Martin, who specialises in braking systems, said he had not been at work on January 3 due to the public holiday, but turned up as normal the next day.

However, it wasn't until January 5 that Gary phoned to ask how he was getting on when he made the horror realisation.

The pair checked the tracking information online which showed the box had been delivered two days earlier.

They then checked the CCTV and immediately had a "sinking feeling" when reviewing the footage.

To make matters worse, it was later revealed that the parcel had been signed for – by the driver himself.

The courier had left a "squiggle" on the delivery slip to say it had been dropped off safely – and Martin and Gary were "gobsmacked".

Gary said: "Watching that video was just soul destroying.

"It was worth about £100 but it was vital to measure the new part I paid £5,000 for."

'SOUL DESTROYING'

Gary, who is a champion racer with BARC Classic Touring Car Racing Club, now fears his Honda Civic EG won't be ready for the new season in March.

"I have had to order a new part and hope it arrives in time and is fitted before the season starts," he said.

"Hopefully it will be here, but it is just so annoying."

The winning recreational racer said he complained to Hermes through its automated system but described it as "an absolute joke".

"I've not even had a response since I opened the case," he said.

Martin said his company has had so many issues with Hermes he now has a warning against using the courier on his website.

It reads: "Please do not send any items to us via Hermes, they lose more than they deliver."

A spokesperson for Hermes said: "We are already in contact with the customer and are dealing with the issues."

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