Postman jailed for dumping mail

3,100 items of post were found dumped in woods

A postman who failed to deliver 5,500 items of mail and told investigators he "couldn't be bothered" has been jailed for nine months.

Adam Stuart, 22, dumped half in woods near his home in Conwy, Caernarfon Crown Court heard.

Stuart previously admitted two counts of delaying mail and also admitted stealing 67 postal packets.

The court heard he had been unhappy he had not been paid properly and could not cope when moved to delivery work.

Stuart was based in Deeside but moved to Colwyn Bay for a fortnight before his suspension

The offences came to light after a colleague noticed a package hadn't been delivered to her. Other residents at Colwyn Bay also hadn't received their post.

In February Stuart was confronted by investigators and more than 3,000 postal packages, 64 of them opened, were found in his car although 588 were due for delivery that day.

He had opened mail containing Tesco Clubcard vouchers, watch batteries, two gold rings, clothing and parts for a scooter.

He was dumping post because he wasn't up to dealing with the delivery task required of him Gordon Hennell, defence barrister

Prosecuting barrister Sion ap Mihangel, for the Royal Mail, said the total value of stolen items was £478.

"The majority with the exception of four items are still missing," he said.

In May a forestry worker discovered mailbags containing 3,100 items of post dumped in woods close to Stuart's home at the village of Trefriw in the Conwy Valley.

He told investigators he had lost interest in his job because he hadn't been paid properly for the previous three or four weeks.

"I couldn't be bothered more than anything else," he had said.

'Breach of trust'

Judge John Rogers QC told him: "For about four weeks in January and February this year while employed as a postman you persistently dumped letters and other postal packets and from 67 of them you stole items of property.

"There are aggravating features. Firstly this was a gross breach of trust. Secondly you have caused inconvenience and possibly damage to many members of the public and thirdly the number of packages totalled around 5,500."

Defence barrister Gordon Hennell said: "He was employed on a casual basis in December 2007 in the sorting office.

"It was a job he was able to cope with pretty well because he wasn't working on his own. He was then offered a job delivering which he found much greater difficulty coping with."

He went on: "There was very little training provided.

"He was dumping post because he wasn't up to dealing with the delivery task required of him. Of course he should immediately have gone to his superiors and explained the problem."

Mr Hennell added that Stuart had shown signs of dyspraxia earlier in his life. The condition affects co-ordination and thinking skills.