Suspended sentence for thieving postman

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A TEENAGE postman who stole parcels he was supposed to be delivering to customers has avoided being sent to jail.

Matthew Jones, aged 18, was working for Royal Mail in August when he stole the post.

But a number of residents in Horwich noticed that their mail had been going missing and complained to Royal Mail.

Jones, of Castlecroft Avenue, Blackrod, pleaded guilty to theft at Bolton Magistrates’ Court.

He was charged with stealing 24 packets in August, 2008.

He was given a six month suspended sentence, suspended for 12 months, and was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.

One of his victims, who asked not to be named, said: “Mail started to go missing on certain days and I heard that this happened to a number of people in Horwich.

“People complained to Royal Mail about it and he was found out. I think he had only been a postman for about a month.

“He was targeting parcels from places such as Amazon or Play.com and people were losing out on things they had bought, which is not fair.”

Royal Mail, which prosecuted the case, refused to comment or provide any further details.