Rhiannon Smith was waiting at home for her new £89.99 heated clothes dryer to be delivered – but disaster struck immediately after it was left on her doorstep by the courier
A woman has revealed how she became trapped in her own home after an unfortunate incident involving her new drying rack.
Rhiannon Smith went online to order a £89.99 heated clothes dryer from Amazon. But she found herself in a jam immediately after her new gadget was delivered. It was brought to her home by a DPD courier who left the box on her doorstep and exited before she had time to answer.
It was only when Rhiannon came downstairs and tried to open the door that she realised the delivery driver had rammed the parcel under her door handle, trapping her inside.
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“I heard the doorbell go from upstairs and I was down in seconds,” Rhiannon, from Haywards Heath, West Sussex, told What’s the Jam . “I could see the box under the handle through the window and I thought, ‘Oh no, I’m not going to get out here.’
“I tried unlocking it and moving the handle but it was fully stuck. I phoned my dad and he said I’d have to climb out of the window.
“The window was deceivingly high and I’m only five foot. There were lots of spiders as well. I was stuck for about 20 minutes then I climbed out and moved the box myself.” Rhiannon reported the incident to Amazon, noting that it could have been far more serious for someone vulnerable.
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She added: “I’m healthy and have friends and family around so I knew I’d be fine but if that was someone elderly, it could have been really bad.
“Amazon said they’d escalate it and contact the driver to make sure it doesn’t happen again. They will have lent it against the door and not realised. Then they rushed off because they’ve got loads of deliveries to do.”
Rhiannon filmed herself while trapped inside, posting the clip on social media where it’s racked up more than 340,000 views.
In the viral video she fumed: “What’s the dumbest thing your delivery driver has done? Because I think I can top it. I’ve ordered myself a heated clothes airer. He’s left it under my door handle so I can’t open my front door now.
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“I’m literally quite stuck in my house. I don’t have a back door, this is my only exit. Who does this? Now what? I live alone. I’m baffled. That was just stupid.”
Viewers were quick to offer suggestions – from “order a pizza and get the delivery man to move it” to “push the box with a stick through the letter box”.
Others shared their own horror stories.One said: “Delivery driver did that with my daughter but it was a large TV. “Could have been very expensive if she’d managed to get the door open.”
Another added: “Oh my God, this happened to me when I was living alone during Covid. Dad turns up with ladders in case I need to escape over the balcony – nope, just stuck under the freaking door handle.”
A third warned: “What if you were a weak person or in a wheelchair? It could be heavy or you might be alone for hours – but what if a fire started? It’s dangerous to leave it like that.”