Marjorie Kreibich who received two letters 40 years late (Picture: MEN Syndication)

We’ve all had mail delivered late but 40 years overdue is ridiculous.

That’s the amount of time 81-year-old Marjorie Kreibich had to wait to receive a couple of letters that arrived at her house on Tuesday.

One of them was a boring note from and old savings account firm but the other envelope was much more interesting.

It was from her late husband Brian Kreibich’s uncle and was dated June 24, 1975.

When she opened it she found a letter thanking the couple for sending him a gardening book for his birthday.

It also contained a picture of Mrs Kreibich’s daughter Pamela, who is now 62.

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She was shocked when she found the letters (Picture: MEN Syndication)

‘I just couldn’t believe it when I looked in the envelope. Bill passed away many years ago,’ Mrs Kreibich said.

The envelope had been sent from Knutsford, in Cheshire, to her home in Middleton where she has lived for 44 years.

Mrs Kreibich was so pleased to receive the package she decided she wouldn’t complain to Royal Mail.

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One of the letters was from Marjorie Kreibich’s late husband’s uncle (Picture: MEN Syndication)

She said she thought it may have been sent abroad accidentally because it had a label attached to it that apologised for damage caused ‘at the point of entry into the UK’.

Julie Pirone, a spokeswoman for Royal Mail, added: ‘It is very likely the letters have been put back into the postal system by someone recently, rather than them being lost or stuck somewhere.

‘Royal Mail regularly checks all its delivery offices and clears its sorting machines daily.

‘Once an item is in the postal system, it will be delivered to the address on the letter.’

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