'We want our postie back' nearly 2,000 sign petition to re-instate popular postman

[11aaa222]

'We want our postie back' — nearly 2,000 sign petition to re-instate popular postman

http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/145 ... r_postman/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NEARLY 2,000 people have signed a petition to re-instate a much-loved community postman who is believed to have lost his job.

Residents in and around the Stoneclough area are calling for long-serving postie Anthony Holt to be given his job back after he was reportedly sacked by the Royal Mail.

Mr Holt, who has worked out of the nearby Radcliffe post depot for the past 18 years, is said to have been dismissed after breaking into his own van after accidentally locking his keys inside.

He had dropped the keys in the van, which had then self-locked and in the belief that there was only one pair, he had used tools to open the vehicle up so that he was no longer stranded and could finish his daily post round.


The Bolton News understands the incident which led to Mr Holt’s dismissal occurred in May and after a Royal Mail investigation he was informed he had lost his job last week — he has since appealed that decision.

The Royal Mail did not want to comment on the specifics of the case, but said an “internal process” is ongoing.

Mr Holt, aged 34, from Radcliffe has been described by Stoneclough residents as “more than just a postman” and as “the best postman ever” for going beyond the call of duty to help the community.

When the Riverside Drive area of Stoneclough was flooded at Christmas, affected residents said he went out of his way to make sure their post was taken to safe locations and offered them support during the difficult period.

He was also on hand to use his post van to help friend David De Souza put up giant metallic flowers around Kearsley as part of the Kearsley in Bloom celebrations.

News of Mr Holt’s dismissal has angered the Stoneclough community.

Along with the petition of nearly 2,000 names — which was launched by Lee Burns — about 500 people have also joined a Facebook group called We Want Our Post Man Back.

That group was set up by Stoneclough resident Terena Russell, aged 47, who said: “Anthony is a very well-liked postman and you can see that by how many people have shown their support for him.


“I think it is very unfair to sack him for that, he is a really nice bloke who will go out of his way to help anyone.”

She added: “We saw during the floods that he does more than just deliver our mail and we want him back.”

Riverside Drive resident Kev Kelly, whose house was badly flooded in the Boxing Day deluge, said Mr Holt was on hand to help at the time.

He said: “He helped us to clear the devastation of the flood and afterwards he reassured any resident affected that their post would be redirected for free, something he organised through his bosses.

“He is a really nice guy, he waits patiently to make sure you are in and if not he knows all our trusted neighbours to have our packages signed for.”

He added: “He just does his job to an excellent standard and always greets everyone he sees.”

A spokesman for the Royal Mail said: “This case is subject to an internal process and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

[Lounge Lizard]

I thought sacked Bolton postman might be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diCeubq_WXg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but it's not.
We wish him well but I doubt if he will be helped by "When the Riverside Drive area of Stoneclough was flooded at Christmas he went out of his way to make sure their post was taken to safe locations" and "He was also on hand to use his post van to help friend David De Souza put up giant metallic flowers around Kearsley as part of the Kearsley in Bloom celebrations".

[TrueBlueTerrier]

I thought sacked Bolton postman might be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diCeubq_WXg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but it's not.
We wish him well but I doubt if he will be helped by "When the Riverside Drive area of Stoneclough was flooded at Christmas he went out of his way to make sure their post was taken to safe locations" and "He was also on hand to use his post van to help friend David De Souza put up giant metallic flowers around Kearsley as part of the Kearsley in Bloom celebrations".

Those 2 incidents appear official and above board to be honest.


The "Safe locations" will be the free redirection RM offer to flood victims.

The metallic Flowers - The photo looks official

[Lounge Lizard]

I thought sacked Bolton postman might be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diCeubq_WXg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; but it's not.
We wish him well but I doubt if he will be helped by "When the Riverside Drive area of Stoneclough was flooded at Christmas he went out of his way to make sure their post was taken to safe locations" and "He was also on hand to use his post van to help friend David De Souza put up giant metallic flowers around Kearsley as part of the Kearsley in Bloom celebrations".

Those 2 incidents appear official and above board to be honest.


The "Safe locations" will be the free redirection RM offer to flood victims.

The metallic Flowers - The photo looks official

That's good news TBT.

[datasaint]

Why didn't he inform a manager that the van has locked him out?

Secondly, what was the damage to the van? Obviously he shouldn't have done it, but you can appreciate why he did, there was no dishonesty. I think sacking is a bit OTT.

[DB1100]

One of our lads locked himself in the back of one of those Maxxis P.O.S vans,a local resident heard his knocking when the fitter got there,because the guy was diabetic rhe just crowbarred the door straight off,wrecked it completely,nothing got said,like someone else said maybe a bollocking but didn't deserve the sack.

[bustedflush]

Why didn't he inform a manager that the van has locked him out?

Secondly, what was the damage to the van? Obviously he shouldn't have done it, but you can appreciate why he did, there was no dishonesty. I think sacking is a bit OTT.

A bit unfair. We have numerous vans with only one set of keys, and a couple of those have 'bent door edges' where they have been forced, presumably for similar reasons. I did exactly the same on one van, but luckily the driver's side autolocked but the passenger central locking didn't work and the passenger door had to shut manually with the key in the lock so I simply went round that side and got back in. Perhaps the stupid 'please ensure the handbrake is applied before leaving the vehicle' can have a P.S. 'and please ensure key is in your hand when leaving vehicle'.