A STOCKTON widower has criticised Reader's Digest for still sending mail addressed to his late wife, three months after they were notified of her death.

Michael Bennington, 74, of Bishopton Road, settled his wife, Anne's, account with Reader's Digest shortly after she died on January 28, but the mail has kept coming.

He said: "I find it most distressing because I am on my own now. We were together for 54 years and it's upsetting to get these things through the post.

"When I rang to complain I was told to just tear them up and put them in the bin, but I don't want to get them in the first place."

He intends to ask his MP, Dari Taylor, if she would be prepared to take up his case.

A call by the D&S Times to Reader's Digest to ask why the situation had arisen was answered five days later - apparently in line with its system for handling queries.

A spokeswoman said the problem arose because mail was sent to the Post Office in advance and could not be retrieved.

"Unfortunately, there are two items still in the system and we can't stop them going out. After that, Mr Bennington will not receive anything else from us."

She added: "We do apologise and we wrote to him in February saying we were sorry for any distress caused, but we can't stop it going out."

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said: "If we receive mail that is addressed we are legally bound to deliver it; we cannot physically stop it."

Mr Bennington accused Reader's Digest of knowingly using a system that caused distress in this way purely for financial gain.

He said: "This must have happened to thousands of people. Reader's Digest has created a system it cannot control. It could change it but it is not prepared to. There can only be one reason for that; because it would cost the company money."