Suspects chased by minister turned out to be postmen!

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.heraldseries.net/news/latest ... ostmen.php

BAPTIST minister Philip Mader-Grayson had no doubt what to do when he saw two young men messing around on Post Office bikes on Wallingford's Kinecroft - he challenged them and chased them through the town centre.

He thought they had stolen the machines and went to talk to them, but when they raced off, he chased them into the town centre and back to the Kinecroft.

He said: "I thought they had stolen the bikes and so I went after them, shouted at people to stop them and kept on with the chase. They were riding on the pavement, weaving in and out between pedestrians.

"It turned out they were agency staff working for the Post Office delivering mail in Wallingford.

"But what shocked me was that they had no identification at all - and that is very bad."

When one was stopped on Kinecroft, Mr Mader-Grayson, 53, dialled 999 and waited for the police with the young man.

He said: "I was simply horrified that the Post Office was employing agency staff to deliver our mail and not giving them any ID at all. We are constantly being told to check IDs of people claiming to be officials, yet these workers could not produce any - and neither was wearing the fluorescent tabards issued by the Post Office.

"I let the man go after another postman identified him as an agency worker - his companion had got lost in the town because he could not find his way back to the sorting office.

"I'm not anti the Royal Mail, but I want to see them doing the job properly, not in this haphazard manner."

Mr Mader-Grayson retired from RAF Benson in 1992 to become a minister and was assistant minister in Wallingford for three years. Now he runs a retreat at his home, Bridge House, Shillingford.

He said: "I phoned customer services, only to be told it was impractical to issue IDs to people who might be working for the Post Office only for that one day.

"That is ridiculous - at RAF Benson they are constantly issuing one-day passes to visitors.

"People have said it was a brave thing to do, challenging these young men. But we are all urged to act responsibly and that is what I was doing. I also had my dog, Cadfael, with me!"

Richard Hall, for Royal Mail, said the possibility of producing identification for temporary staff was being seriously investigated.

He said: "The behaviour of the two temporary employees that Saturday (September 8) was unacceptable - their behaviour has been reported to the agency supplying the staff.

"We do on occasion and at short notice need to use temporary staff supplied by agencies who are well aware of the standards we expect.

"They were supplied with Royal Mail cycles and high-visibility jackets.

"We would like to thank the customers involved for their vigilance in reporting this matter to us."

3:00pm Friday 14th September 2007

[Crackerjackpencil]

possibility of producing identification for temporary staff was being seriously investigated.

Hmm I may be way off the mark here, but I would have thought this would be mandatory for people handling other peoples mail.

The behaviour of the two temporary employees that Saturday (September 8) was unacceptable - their behaviour has been reported to the agency supplying the staff.

Ahhh but if it was a real Postie he'd be out the door via the conduct code

[IWW Fellow Worker]

This is the future for a once great institution once the dynamic duo have finished!
Scallys dicking about on bikes is just the start. Wait until they discover which items are worth appropriating.

Well done Royal Mail management!