A woman suffered serious head injuries when an unoccupied Royal Mail delivery van struck her on a quiet road.

The woman who was struck by the van on Mansfield Road, Edinburgh yesterday morning.

Police are now investigating the collision and it’s understood the handbrake was applied when the van moved off.

The road was closed for some time to allow cops to carry out their investigation.

Royal Mail spokesperson Morag Turnbull said: “Royal Mail can confirm that an incident took place this morning in Mansfield Road involving a Royal Mail vehicle and a member of the public who has been taken to hospital.

“Royal Mail takes road safety extremely seriously and we are carrying out an urgent internal investigation into the circumstances of this incident.

“Our thoughts are with the customer and their family at this time.”

A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “Police in Edinburgh were called to Mansfield Road in the Balerno area around 9.55am on Wednesday 7 June following a report that a Royal Mail Van, which was unoccupied, had collided with a pedestrian.

“An 80-year-old woman was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with a serious, but non life-threatening, head injury.

“The road was closed until around 2.10pm while investigations were conducted at the scene.”

Anyone who may have witnessed this and has not yet spoken to officers is urged to contact Road Policing on 101, quoting incident number 1017 of 7 June 2017.”