EMMA PERRY was looking forward to beginning a new life on the other side of the Atlantic.

But her dreams turned to heartbreak when her family's worldly goods finally arrived.

They discovered that most of their possessions had been destroyed when a container carrying their belongings was thought to have been dropped during loading.

Mrs Perry and her family emigrated from Darlington to Ontario, Canada, in February, but only discovered the damage when the removals firm arrived at their new home weeks later.

However, Mrs Perry will not be given a refund for the cost of the removal - and says she has been told by the company concerned that it would have been better if the container had been lost at sea.

In a letter to Mrs Perry from nationwide removal firm Robinsons, business manager Nicki French said: "Although we remain convinced that the steamship line dropped the container, we have not been able to confirm this.

"Contractually, we believe Robinsons has fulfilled all its obligations to you in respect of your shipment."

Mrs Perry said her family, including three children, one a nine-month-old baby, had to sleep on the floor of their new house for four weeks while the claim was processed.

And although the insurance pay-out of £10,460 has covered most of the damage, Mrs Perry said the incident had left her depressed.

"I will never get over it. It was one of the worst days of my life," she said.

"You could have gravelled your drive with what was left of my marble table and my mirror was smashed into a million pieces."

She said a can of WD40 lubricant, which had been left in the container by a removal crew, exploded during transit, causing further damage.

Mrs Perry added: "Every major piece of furniture was destroyed and all our photographs are still missing."

Robinsons has offered her £250 in as a goodwill gesture, but she has branded this an "absolute joke".

A spokesman for Robinsons said: "We regret the damage to Mr and Mrs Perry's belongings has caused so much distress, and are concerned that the family feel our service has fallen below the high standard that we set for ourselves.

"In our experience, accidents of this kind are very rare and we fully sympathise with Mr and Mrs Perry and their family."