A furious dad has claimed a Royal Mail worker hurled abuse at him and his disabled daughter and threatened to run them over in a row over a disabled parking space.
James Beresford, from Malvern, Worcestershire, was enjoying a day off from work with his daughter Sophie, two, to give his partner a day to herself as she’s their daughter’s full-time carer.
Mr Beresford was in the car with Sophie, who has cerebral palsy, and tried to pull into a disabled space but the postman beat him to it.
He drove around the block and decided to confront the postman outside the Malvern Link Post Office.
However, James claims the man, described as being in his early 20s, launched a tirade of abuse at him and even branded his daughter a "sp*****".
James told Mirror Online: "I pointed out that he had parked in a disabled spot and he just said ‘I don’t give a sh*t’ and he started swearing at me."
The postman then began filming James and his daughter as the situation escalated.
Mr Beresford claims the man then shouted: "I don’t give a sh*t, this is sp***** parking for your sp***** daughter.
"I couldn’t believe he was saying such horrible things."
The outraged dad said the language used by the postman was a "hate crime".
Mr Beresford then went to the depot to try and speak to his manager, who then told him to "leave it" as other members of staff laughed at him.
"I made a comment as the gentleman was getting in the van in the depot, that was: ‘What are you going to do, are you going to run me and my daughter over?’," Mr Beresford said.
"He turned around and went: ‘I’m happy to run you over’.
"I felt very threatened at that point so I, for my safety and my daughter’s safety, had to leave."
Mr Beresford then contacted the police and reported the incident as a hate crime.
The doting dad says the incident "hit a nerve" as his partner is often shouted at for parking in a disabled spot, even though their daughter has a number of debilitating conditions.
"Because she’s small people think she can just carry her but we have all the medical equipment she needs in the car as well," he said.
Sophie has cerebral palsy quadriplegia and suffered from Tracheo-Oesophageal Fistula (TOF) when she was born.
Babies born with TOF need intensive neo-natal care prior to corrective surgery, normally within days of birth.
Whilst many children born with TOF will experience only a few problems, others may have difficulties with swallowing and digesting food, Gastro-Oesophageal Reflux and respiratory problems.
"When she was born the diagnosis wasn’t good, they said she’d never smile, never move or stand up," he said.
"She’s now desperate to stand up even though her legs won’t let her and she just constantly smiles – for somebody to do what they did, not just to me but to her, really hit a nerve.
"She’s my beautiful little girl."
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "We were shocked and saddened to hear what happened to Mr Beresford and his daughter. We have launched an urgent investigation into the matter.
"We sincerely apologise to Mr Beresford and his daughter for the deep upset this incident has caused them. We will keep Mr Beresford updated on our investigation."
West Mercia Police are investigating.
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