Postie's packing in after 45 years

Postie's packing in after 45 years

Leslie Tyler says he will miss the cycling

A postman whose deliveries have taken him more than 200,000 miles on his village round is hanging up his mailbag after 45 years.

LeslieTyler was a fresh-faced young man of 16 when he began his new job as a postman in 1958.

Little did he know the job was to last him a lifetime.

Every week since then, come rain or shine, he has delivered the mail to the villagers of Arlesford, near Colchester in Essex.

During his 45 years of sorting and delivering he has spotted the odd change or two.

"In the early years when I first started the busiest day was when the pools came out because everyone did the pools in those days."

And letter-writing habits have changed hugely.

Remote deliveries

"You no longer get the handwritten letter the grandchildren wrote to grannie," he said.

His rural patch means a fair number of remote deliveries around Arlesford where even the postie's sworn enemy, the dogs, seem to have fallen under his charms.

Mr Tyler's daily cycle ride also means he is probably one of the fittest 61-year-olds in the village.

"I think it works out somewhere between 160,000 and 180,000 miles on a bike and I think I've probably walked 60,000 miles in 45 years," he said.

The postman said he would miss the cycling and catching up with his friends, but will be happy to see an end to his 0500 BST starts.