A west Wiltshire pensioner fears she may have to fork out another £75 to apply for a new passport for the second time after the first one went missing.

Maureen Jardine, 73, from Beanacre, wants the passport in time to go on a family holiday to Marbella in Spain in August with her husband, Gary, two daughters Kelly and Kim, and her three grandchildren.

She says shipping services giant TNT claims it has made 24 attempts to deliver her new passport since Friday, March 25 but she is adamant she has not received it.

She said: “I was informed by Liverpool Passport Office that my passport was being sent for printing and TNT would contact me when it was ready for delivery.

“After waiting about 10 weeks as they advise I decided to chase it up. I went on TNT website and was shocked to see that they apparently tried to deliver it at the end of March but had taken it back after non-delivery.

“This went on for the whole of April. I was not left any card or received any notification of this. I am now assuming that it’s collecting dust somewhere, either with TNT or Liverpool Passport Office."

Mrs Jardine said she has spent hours trying to contact a human being that could help "but to no avail". 

“Unless my passport is found I will have to fork out another £75 for a new one – all because TNT can’t make a simple delivery.”

Mrs Jardine added: “I live in a house with a porch and a front door with a letterbox, so I don’t know why they could not deliver it.”

She says the missing passport preys on her mind “every single day” and says she will be “gutted” if she can’t get one in time for the family holiday.

“I am very worried about it. I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s on my mind all the time as I will be the only one that does not have a passport."

On its website, TNT says: “For the majority of passport deliveries, if you have a letterbox that allows us to post directly into your property, we can deliver even if you are not at home.

“All UKV&I and travel documents items must be signed for by the individual to whom they are addressed to, so you will need to be at home.

“We are experiencing a higher demand than expected for our delivery service. As a result, deliveries may take longer than usual. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”