London: An imaginative British postman who tried to deliver a parcel to a customer through an open window has apologised along with the Royal Mail after realising that the consignment landed in the toilet.

Sam Cooke, a sports journalist, had ordered some ink for his printer. But when the parcel arrived on Thursday, he was not at home in Wardle, Greater Manchester, to receive it. The postman found an open window and thought he found a clever way to deliver the parcel and dropped the item through the window but soon realised that it had fallen into the toilet, British media reported.

When Cooke arrived at his house, he found two Royal Mail cards on his doormat. The first one said the parcel had been put through an open window. The second read: "I'm really sorry I think your parcel might have fallen down the toilet...Accidently (sic)".

Thankfully, the box, containing printer ink, was "too wide to hit the water". Pictures of the apologetic postman's cards and box in the loo have been shared thousands of times on Twitter since Cooke posted them on Twitter.

Royal Mail has apologised

"Even though Mr Cooke has confirmed there was no damage to the parcel, we're very sorry for any inconvenience caused," a Royal Mail spokesperson said. "Our staff are always reminded of the appropriate action to take if a customer is unavailable to accept a delivery. A card should have been posted through the door informing him that the parcel had been returned to the local delivery office and listing the various options available to retrieve it, or that the parcel had been left with a neighbour," Mirror newspaper quoted the spokesperson as saying.

Reacting to the apology, Cooke said: "There's honestly nothing to apologise for, the parcel is absolutely fine, gave me and thousands of others a good laugh." However, Cooke said he has decided to keep the window closed in future.