Andrew Payne, 20, from Widley, was the first person to receive a letter through the service PosttotheFuture.com.

Written by his grandmother Mary Payne five years ago, it contained a personal message from the past.

'I wanted to wish him luck and give him encouragement as he was starting out in life, I thought it would be a unique idea and a nice gift for him to receive in the future,' said Mrs Payne.

'Hearing that Andrew had read the letter after all this time has really cheered me up and I'm very glad that I wrote it.'

PosttotheFuture.com is a website that allows users to post a letter to anyone at anytime in the future. Users can either submit their own handwritten letter for an individual touch or write it on the website.

The letter is delivered to the recipient on the date specified by the sender.

Mr Payne, who received the letter last week, said: 'I was really surprised to open a letter from my gran written five years ago, a lot has changed in my life since then and it was nice to know my gran was thinking of my future. I am wondering who I shall write my own letter to.'