A brave man who cracked a rib stopping a Royal Mail van he saw rolling out of control down a hill has been told by the company that he shouldn't have bothered.

Robert Moore, 63, saw the unmanned red van rolling backwards down Whatley Road in Clifton into St John's Road as he walked home from shopping on a Saturday morning.

With children and elderly people nearby, he ignored his own safety and opened the door of the moving vehicle so he could apply the hand brake.

But in doing so he was knocked backwards, cracking his rib and grazing his knees.

Painter Mr Moore, a throat cancer survivor, managed to stop the van which had been heading for a parked car.

The father-of-two wrote to Royal Mail asking for compensation for the injuries he suffered as a result of the accident, but was given short shrift by the organisation.

Despite preventing damage being caused to a Royal Mail vehicle, Mr Moore was told his injuries were his own fault.

A letter from a Royal Mail claims negotiator to Mr Moore's solicitors Metcalfes of Queen Square said: "We cannot be held responsible for your client's injuries in choosing to stop a moving van without considering the personal consequences.

"We assume your client is of average intelligence and as such he must have known that what he was attempting to do was fraught with great danger, with the real possibility of personal injury.

"With that real threat apparent he should never have attempted to do what he did and while his actions may have been brave, they should not have been at the expense of his own safety.

"Had your client not attempted to stop the van it would have continued without posing any danger or threat to your client.

"That being the case, no injury could have been sustained.

"Of course it is commendable what your client did; however, Royal Mail would never ask a member of the public to risk their own safety in the manner above, and, while unfortunate, your client does appear to be the author of his own misfortune.

"We trust common sense will prevail here and you will simply advise in due course that your client's claim is withdrawn."

The letter also stated Mr Moore had attempted to stop the van "negligently", and said the Royal Mail was unable to confirm why the van had rolled.

Mr Moore, who lives in Whatley Road, believes it was because the hand brake had been left off by the driver.

He said: "I was coming home from Sainbury's in Clifton, and noticed the van going backwards without a driver.

"There were children and elderly people. I thought 'What do I do, let kids get killed?

"It wasn't going very fast but there was a parked car it would have hit.

"I opened the door but the motion made me fall over, which shoved my knees into my chest, cracked my rib and grazed my knees.

"The driver came down, he was a young guy, and said 'did I forget to put the hand brake on?' The chap said he was very sorry.

"I was in such agony. I went to the doctor as soon as I could get an appointment and he agreed I had a cracked rib, I'd had one before.

"I've still got scars on my knees to this day. I like to walk but it hurts.

"When I saw the letter I just laughed, I didn't believe it."

Mr Moore made the claim in early September, but didn't receive his rejection letter from the Royal Mail until the end of February.

Within hours of the Post contacting the Royal Mail for comment, the company had drastically changed its tune.

A spokesman said: "We would like to apologise to Mr Moore for the handling of this case and we are discussing the matter with him and his legal representatives."