Gran slams Amazon for ‘ridiculous joke packaging’ after garden tool arrives in 6ft box

A grandmother was left gobsmacked after a gardening tool she’d ordered from Amazon arrived in a 6ft box. She’s since slammed the online retailer for its ‘joke packaging’

A keen gardener couldn’t believe her eyes after a gardening tool she’d ordered from Amazon arrived in a massively oversized 6ft-long box.

Jan Tullick slammed the ‘ridiculous joke packaging’ that towered above her – and was far too big for the item rattling around inside.

The green-fingered-gran had ordered a £24.99 digging bar from the online giant, wanting to break up clay in her garden.

However, when the Roughneck Gorilla Bar actually arrived, she initially didn’t even realise the enormous package was for her, naturally assuming it was meant for one of her neighbours.

Now Jan, 64, is calling on Amazon to ‘cut their packaging down’, claiming they’re ‘not saving the environment’.

Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here.

Upon seeing the large parcel, Jan’s confused daughter Nicola Fail, 40, joked that her mother must have been secretly treating herself to a new sofa.

Shocked by the size, Jan, who’s 5ft 6, posed beside the box and, the digging bar, in a bid to demonstrate the scale of the packaging.

To drive her point home further, Jan’s 6ft 3 grandson Alfie Collins, 14, hopped inside the box, popping the lid while standing up straight.

Retired Jan, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, said: “When I saw it come up the path I said to my daughter ‘it must be for next door becaus›e I’ve never ordered anything that big’.

“When I opened the door the lad said it was for my house number. I told him ‘the only thing I’ve ordered is a digging stick, like a metal rod’ and he said ‘good luck to you getting rid of this box’.

“When we opened it, well I couldn’t believe my eyes. The box was huge, about 6ft tall, and the item was only 48 inches. It had a piece of brown paper wrapped around it.”

She continued: “There was plenty of room in there, my grandson got in it. All they had to do was wrap it in plastic instead of putting it in a ginormous box.

“My daughter thought I’d been doing some secret shopping because I’m terrible on Amazon.

“I just thought it was a huge joke, it was ridiculous. They should really cut their packaging down. Saving the environment? Amazon doesn’t.”

An Amazon spokesperson said: “Amazon is committed to reducing packaging waste and using less packaging material.

“Initiatives like the Frustration-Free Packaging Programmes encourage manufacturers to package their products in easy-to-open packaging that is 100% recyclable and ready to ship to customers without Amazon boxes.

“Since 2015, Amazon has reduced the weight of outbound packaging per shipment by more than 36%, and eliminated more than one million tonnes of packaging material, the equivalent of two billion shipping boxes.”

Do you have an unusual parcel delivery story to share? We pay for stories. Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com