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Not only had he paid £250 for it, but it was signed by Pope John Paul II.
So Christian White was less than impressed when he returned from holiday to find a note from Royal Mail saying a postman had left the rare book in a recycling bin.
Mr White had asked a neighbour to put the bin out while he was away – so by the time he got back it was too late.
The book, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, had been taken away and destroyed.
Mr White, a 42-year-old book dealer, said: ‘It’s ridiculous but in some ways it’s hilarious.
‘It had a nice little letter from the publisher saying it had been signed by John Paul II.
‘Our recycling only gets collected once a month and I knew we’d be away so I asked my neighbour to put the bin out.
‘We weren’t here to see the little red slip with its fatal message until it was too late. I can’t believe something that good could end up in the recycling bin, it’s so stupid and unnecessary.
‘It beggars belief, how is it possible that the postman could be so stupid as to put a book, essentially a load of paper, in a paper recycling bin?’
Mr White, a married father-of-five, runs his rare books and manuscripts business from his home in Ilkley, West Yorkshire.
Dozens of books arrive for him each day, so at first he didn’t know which one had been put in the bin.
The postman put this flier through Mr White's letterbox and placed the item in the bin instead of returning it to the delivery office as rules state
He said: ‘I had to wait a few weeks for the other books I had ordered around that time to arrive.
‘Lo and behold, it was the John Paul II book. I was devastated.
‘It’s not something that has ever happened to me before, but I’ve spoken to other people in the area who say it has happened to them.’
Mr White was offered a refund by the American dealer he bought the book from, who admitted it should have been sent recorded delivery.
In the book, the late Pope John Paul II explained his views about various religious beliefs, including his belief in God and his opinion of non-Catholic and non-Christian faiths.
The book cost Mr White £250, but as it was signed it could have been worth a lot more in a few years.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: ‘We would like to apologise for the correct delivery procedures not being carried out.
‘A “something for you” card should have been posted through the door informing him that the package had been returned to the local delivery office.
‘Staff are always reminded of the action to take if a customer is unavailable to accept a delivery.’
(or Ian Paisley...........and that only us from NI that can make that joke 
)
and only those of us who worship the great lord Satan can make that joke 
. my thoughs as well! Sees a b it strange that one bool out of 'dozens ' that are delivetred daqily, finds it's way in to a bin? Whaty happened to the other books that day?