A COMMUNITY is rallying together to save their "Mr Friendly Postman" from losing his round in Theale.
Residents in Theale are determined to save their postie, Alan White, of Thatcham, who was recently told he would be losing his round in the village.
Mother-of-two, Hazel Eastlake, started a petition this week to garner support
She said: "Alan has been the postman in Theale for over nine years. He is always friendly and knows everybody by name.
"For years my children called him 'Mr Friendly Postman'. He is a true part of our community but sadly he has been informed that he lost his round.
"It is just little things, like, everybody on our estate has electricity and gas boxes. Alan has keys to all our boxes so if we're not in and the parcel is small enough he will pop it in the electricity box, lock it and then post a note through the door.
"He also gave a lady down the road his mobile number and said to give him a call if she ever needed anything."
Kim Timony, who now lives in Reading, said: "Alan was our postie in Theale for years and he is truly one of the greats. He knows his clients, he's always polite and extremely helpful. To lose a traditional postman in a traditional village would be more than just a shame.
"He is a fantastic asset to Royal Mail and stands for what a postman always used to be and should be."
Mr White's wife, Sarah, commented on the petition and said: "I know how much my husband loves both his route and the people on it. He is proud to be a part of the Theale community."
The Royal Mail said that they are continually reviewing their operations as fewer letters are delivered.
Val Bodden, spokesperson for the Royal Mail, said: "We are pleased that our customers in Theale have had such excellent service from one of our postmen. It is always gratifying when our customers recognise the hard work of their postman or woman. We need to continually review our operation in the light of falling mail volumes and a change in what we deliver – fewer letters and more parcels.
“When changes to our operation become necessary, we allocate routes based on seniority.
"We wish to reiterate that we fully understand our customers’ concerns, and recognise how important long-serving postmen and women are to the communities they serve.”
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