Grieving mother is devastated after the postman left a teddy bear present in memory of her dead baby in a hot chiminea

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Shaunnah Manners is angry after a careless postman left a tribute to her dead son in a wood burner in her garden

A grieving mother has hit out at the Royal Mail after a teddy bear sent to her in memory of her baby son burned when it was dumped by a postman in a garden heater.

Shaunnah Manners was not at home when the parcel was delivered and, instead of leaving it with a neighbour, the postal worker left a card directing her to her wood-burning fire.

Although the chiminea was no longer ablaze when the bear was put inside, it was still hot enough from the night before to burn through the box and singe the paws of the soft toy.

The toy was a 'Bear with a Star' and had been sent to Miss Manners by her mother as a gift for her other three children.

The bear was supposed to be given to her other children, Harley, two, and Faith and Riley, both five, to remember their young brother, Harvey Gettings, who died soon after being born in January 2014.

Miss Manners, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, said: 'Because my other three children are so young, we have always told them that Harvey is shining in the sky like a star.

'The "Bear with a Star" is holding a red star which has a code on it that you type in online. It then lets you choose and name a star which we were going to do for Harvey.

'It's particularly important for Harley - who is Harvey's twin - to have something to remember his brother by.'

Single mother Miss Manners, 22, explained that the present sparked difficult emotions for her and the state in which the bear ended up made everything worse.

The postman left a note saying he had put the tribute in the wood burner because Miss Manners was out

She said: 'When I took the bear out there were flames coming off it and who knows what would have happened if I hadn't caught it when I did.

'I was just mortified when I saw what had happened. It's a really emotional and sensitive issue for me.'

'The chiminea was still smoldering and the metal would still have been hot so I can't understand how he didn't realise what would happen if he left the bear in there.

'At first its feet were just singed but now they've completely fallen off.'

Miss Manners' mother immediately contacted Royal Mail to complain and the company have since offered her daughter a £100 cheque as a goodwill gesture.

The fire burned through the box and the bottom of the toy. The Royal Mail has apologised for the incident

Miss Manners said: 'I have spoken to a Royal Mail representative and he was really apologetic.

'He brought me to tears actually when he explained that he has children and he can only imagine how I feel.'

A Royal Mail spokeswoman apologised for the damage caused to Miss Manners' parcel.

She said: 'Royal Mail would like to sincerely apologise to Ms Manners for the damage to her parcel.

'All of our postmen and women are aware that items that cannot be delivered should be left in a designated 'safe place' or returned to the delivery office. We have reminded all our staff in Dewsbury of this again.'

The spokeswoman added: 'We have spoken with Ms Manners today to express our apologies and to arrange for compensation to cover the cost of replacing the item, as well as to offer her an additional payment as a gesture of goodwill.

'Every item of mail we deliver is important to us. We will be investigating this matter internally and taking appropriate action - the safety and security of mail is of the utmost importance to our business.'