Two men who live a quarter of a mile away from one another have formed a friendship in an unlikely way.

Reverend Mark Malek and Yassar Taj share one thing in common - they both live at number 26 in the Parkside area of Bradford and their mail keeps getting mixed up, despite living on different streets.

Mr Taj, 36, who lives on Newhill Close and is a schoolteacher, said: "We can't believe it. The addresses are very clear yet we are getting each other's letters. It's been going on for quite a while.

"We have written notes on the envelopes when we get the wrong mail saying 'make sure it's delivered to the correct address', but the problem has carried on.

"Rev Malek's cheque book was one of the letters and a letter from his son in America was another. These are important letters that are going to the wrong address."

Mr Taj said he was not only concerned that the post keeps getting mixed up, but he was also worried about what might be happening to other bits of post that are not being redirected to the rightful owner.

The two men have tried to bring it to the postman's attention by writing polite notes on the envelopes to highlight the correct address.

Rev Malek, 62, who is a teacher at Shaw House School, in Heaton, and lives on Martlett Drive, said the problem has been going on for more than a year but recently it has become more frequent.

"It's become pretty annoying because one of the things that was wrongly delivered was a cheque book," said Rev Malek

"I wondering how much other post I should be getting which is being lost."

Both men know of other residents living in the Parkside area who have been experiencing similar problems.

"I wonder how many other letters are going astray. We trust the Royal Mail but they are clearly letting us down," said Mr Taj.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "Royal Mail was not aware of the concerns of these customers as they had not contacted our customer services with regards to the complaint.

"However, now that we are aware of this the delivery manager has placed a check on these addresses.

"Should these customers have any further concerns about this issue they should contact our customer services on 08457 740740."