ROYAL Mail has apologised to a dad from Malvern who claims he and his disabled daughter were subjected to a barrage of verbal abuse from a post van driver.

James Beresford and his two-year-old daughter Sophie, who suffers from cerebral palsy and Tracheoesophageal Fistula, an abnormal connection between the trachea and the esophagus which can cause breathing trouble and even pneumonia, were trying to park outside the post office in Worcester Road, Malvern Link when they saw a Royal Mail van stopped in the disabled space.

Mr Beresford, 35, claims he told the driver of the van that he could not park there, only for him to reply that he was loading and as a Royal Mail driver he had the right to park wherever he wanted.

Mr Beresford said he then explained that the spot was only for drivers with a disabled badge and showed him the one allocated to Sophie, to which the Royal Mail employee laughed and told him to “f*** off and man up”.

Mr Beresford said the driver then began filming him and Sophie with his mobile phone while laughing at them.

“I very clearly and loudly asked him why he was filming a very young disabled child," he said.

“I think this took him by surprise as he stopped filming Sophie and me directly. Then I pointed out the elderly person who had a blue badge also wanting to park behind to have him just laugh at me and tell me I should go away and get a job.

“At that point I told him that Sophie’s mum is a stay at home carer for Sophie and that I have a full time job, only to get the response ‘well f*** off to work then and stop b****ing at me over a spastic’s parking space'.

“At this point I put Sophie in the car and he drove off laughing at me.

"Is this the world we live in now?”

Mr Beresford says Sophie is fine after the ordeal, adding that she is “always smiling and probably wondering what a crazy world it is”.

A spokesman for Royal Mail said: “We are shocked and saddened to hear what happened to Mr Beresford and his daughter and we have launched an urgent investigation into the matter.

“We sincerely apologise to Mr Beresford and his daughter for the upset this incident has caused them and we will keep Mr Beresford updated on our investigation.”