Thieving Knightswood postman delivered to court

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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A KNIGHTSWOOD postman stole bank cards he was supposed to be delivering to withdraw £1,000.

Mark Boyle visited various cashline machines to take the money, including the Asda store at Clyde Shopping Centre, Clydebank.

He was caught after police found out mail had gone missing on the mail round he covered.

The 46-year-old pleaded guilty to stealing the mail between April 29 and June 3 last year. Boyle, of Keal Avenue, also admitted theft by stealing £1,000 from lockfast ATMs between May 22 and June 3 and appeared at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week for sentencing.

John Service, fiscal depute, told the court suspicions were raised after it became clear bank cards sent out to an address in Bearsden had been intercepted and used to withdraw £1,000.

Mr Service said: “Police made investigations into the circumstances of the loss of the cards and attention focused on the accused, who had been employed as a postman in the Bearsden area.

“Further investigations were carried out by the Royal Mail investigations team. He was later interviewed by the team after a number of items had been recovered from his locker at the Post Office premises.”

The court heard 11 postal packets were found in Boyle’s locker containing greetings cards. He was interviewed by the investigations team again and came clean about his actions.

Mr Service continued: “He admitted he had used the bank cards, which had been part of his normal round, and taken them to obtain money.”

Andrew Lambie, defending, told the court Boyle had complied with investigation work and had admitted his guilt from an early stage, adding that the incident had taken its toll on Boyle’s personal life.

Mr Lambie said: “The repercussions have been fairly grave. Clearly he lost his employment.

“When his wife found out about these matters, she told him to leave. The partners are separated and his wife is consulting solicitors in order to make arrangements.

“The accused has a good employment history. It appears that the reason for his actions was linked to the accused’s inability to manage his finances. He has poor money management skills.”

Mr Lambie said that Boyle had suffered anxiety as a result of the fallout following the case and had been prescribed medication by his doctor.

Sentencing Boyle, a first offender, Sheriff Iain Fleming said: “It is clear there have been grave repercussions for you.

“There have been grave repercussions for others, not least your family. There have been grave repercussions for Royal Mail as a result of what you have done.

“The relationship of trust between Royal Mail and its customers has been tarnished. Custody was high in my mind.”

Sheriff Fleming sentenced Boyle to a community payback order, meaning he will have to complete 225 hours of unpaid work within a year.

He will also be under supervision throughout that period.

[El-Bandito]

Another slap on the wrist for thieving c#nts.