Published Date: 30 September 2008
By Tony Francis
A hard-up postman burgled his delivery office and got away with gift vouchers worth more than £40,000, which he sold on eBay, a court was told.
Harrogate magistrates also heard that he struck on on four occasions, climbing through a hatch to where high-value items were kept.
Andrew Leddy, a 33-year-old married man with debts of £25,000, had worked out of the Ripon delivery office for two years when he began a crime spree which was uncovered when covert surveillance staff set a trap with five fake special delivery items.
When Leddy, of Lupton Springs, Glasshouses, Nidderdale, and pleaded guilty to four counts of burglary and two of theft, Royal Mail prosecutor Charles Watson said he had stolen gift vouchers, with a face value ''far exceeding £40,000'' as well as 800 US dollars.
On one occasion Leddy's haul was £17,500 worth of Arcadia Group vouchers and on another he took Boots vouchers to a value of £7,500.
Mr Watson said suspicions were first aroused in April when staff were alerted by a member of the public to three special delivery items which appeared to have been cut open though without removal of their contents.
The next day there had been a complaint that a package sent special delivery from Ripon had not arrived at its destination after four days.
Royal Mail investigators established that between October last year and April, five special delivery items were unaccounted for.
So a trap to catch the culprit was baited, with five specially-prepared packages introduced into the Ripon special deliveries office.
A little over two hours later a surveillance team saw Leddy enter the building using a security code before dead-locking the door behind him so he could not be followed.
Leddy slid through a hatch and was seen using a craft knife on packages before placing a number of items in the waistband of his trousers and climbing through a window to where waiting investigators arrested him.
He readily admitted that for several months he had been taking gift vouchers and selling them on eBay.
Mr Watson said Leddy, who was of previous good character, was guilty of a massive breach of trust in taking vouchers with a face value far exceeding £40,000.
In mitigation Steven Culleton said Leddy – whose wife was in court to support him – had been wrestling with a psychiatric disorder for five years for which he was now receiving help.
Mr Culleton said Leddy, with debts of £25,000, had stolen out of desperation to ensure his family had food on the table. ''But he also stole with the hope of being caught and punished.''
Leddy was bailed for sentence at York Crown Court on October 27.
