Thieving Gateshead postman faces jail term

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/north-ea ... -26994308/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A FORMER postman who failed to deliver thousands of items of mail faces a wait to find out if he will be jailed.

Mark Scott’s fate lies in the hands of magistrates after he pleaded guilty to stealing post containing cash and gift vouchers and delaying more than 6,000 items of post on his Gateshead round.

Adjourning sentence for a week for probation reports to be prepared, JPs warned the 26-year-old that he could go to prison for up to six months.

Scott admitted raiding his mail bag and stealing £200 cash and £60 gift vouchers contained in birthday cards.

He also admitted delaying more than 6,000 items of “junk mail” he was paid extra to deliver, and delaying 400 postal packets.

Gateshead magistrates heard that Scott, of Hewitson Terrace, Felling, Gateshead, has lost his job and blackened his good name.

Royal Mail prosecutor Paul Heron said Scott was employed as a postman for five years and two months before the crimes came to light earlier this year.

An investigation was launched after a number of postal items were found by a member of the public and initially the probe focused on Scott’s flat-mate, who is also a postman.

But a search of the flat shared by the men unearthed a haul of opened and undelivered mail from Scott’s round.

Bags of mail were found including bundles of door-to-door mail, commonly known as junk mail, election polling cards and 65 opened birthday cards stashed under his mattress.

Scott was quizzed by investigators in April.

“He admitted he opened the birthday cards looking for cash,” said Mr Heron.

“He was asked how much they contained and he said he thought it was £200.

“He was asked what he had done with the money and he said he used it to pay off debts, a loan and bank charges. Also he confirmed that he obtained £60 in gift vouchers.

“He was asked how long this had been going on and he said a month-and-a-half to two months.

“But the earliest undelivered postal packet found went back to December 2009 and that had contained £35.”

Defending, Michael Foley told the bench that Scott got into financial difficulties after his long-term relationship with his girlfriend came to an end.

He had money problems when they lost the house they were buying together, and he was further out of pocket setting up the flat he moved in to.

To earn extra cash, Scott asked for more “junk mail” deliveries but found he couldn’t cope.

He started putting items to one side intending to deliver them the next day but he ended up with a pile with no hope of delivering them, said Mr Foley.

“That was bad enough but the most serious aspect was the delay of the proper post and stealing money, which came about because of the same pressures he was under,” he added.

“This causes considerable upset to the public when cards are not delivered and money is taken from them.

“He acted under this pressure and acted stupidly.

“He maintains he was planning to deliver the items but accepts they were in his flat longer than they should have been.”

Mr Foley appealed to JPs not to jail Scott.

“He is a young man of previous good character who got into a mess, he made wrong decisions and had no-one to turn to, to help him financially,” he said.

“He wants to go to university to study maths and hopes to start next term.

“He hopes to go on and make a useful career for himself but going to prison might blight this.”

[Lounge Lizard]

Gateshead magistrates heard that Scott, of Hewitson Terrace, Felling, Gateshead, has lost his job and blackened his good name.
“He is a young man of previous good character who got into a mess, he made wrong decisions and had no-one to turn to, to help him financially,” he said.

good name, good character - as anyone's daft enough to believe that.

[DGP1]

Gateshead magistrates heard that Scott, of Hewitson Terrace, Felling, Gateshead, has lost his job and blackened his good name.
“He is a young man of previous good character who got into a mess, he made wrong decisions and had no-one to turn to, to help him financially,” he said.

good name, good character - as anyone's daft enough to believe that.

I have a good name too - well I used to before dvb got to me

[clashcityrocker]

“He wants to go to university to study maths and hopes to start next term.

Then he can be more accurate about how much he stole.

[andy2007]

Gateshead magistrates heard that Scott, of Hewitson Terrace, Felling, Gateshead, has lost his job and blackened his good name.
“He is a young man of previous good character who got into a mess, he made wrong decisions and had no-one to turn to, to help him financially,” he said.

good name, good character - as anyone's daft enough to believe that.

Well, they were right about the previously good name. He hadn't been caught before, the theiving b*****d!

[Lounge Lizard]

Gateshead magistrates heard that Scott, of Hewitson Terrace, Felling, Gateshead, has lost his job and blackened his good name.
“He is a young man of previous good character who got into a mess, he made wrong decisions and had no-one to turn to, to help him financially,” he said.

good name, good character - as anyone's daft enough to believe that.

Well, they were right about the previously good name. He hadn't been caught before, the theiving b*****d!

"his good name" - yes, he had a good name before all this.
“He is a young man of previous good character" - absolutely not. If you will do such a thing you are NOT of good character.

[dvbuk55]

Gateshead magistrates heard that Scott, of Hewitson Terrace, Felling, Gateshead, has lost his job and blackened his good name.
“He is a young man of previous good character who got into a mess, he made wrong decisions and had no-one to turn to, to help him financially,” he said.

good name, good character - as anyone's daft enough to believe that.

I have a good name too - well I used to before dvb got to me

I tell everyone I meet what a wonderful person you are DGP - mind you the sort of people I meet..................................