THIEVING Greenock postman Daniel Bonnar who stole letters and parcels during a period spanning three years has been spared prison.

[POSTMAN]

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A THIEVING Greenock postman who stole letters and parcels during a period spanning three years has been spared prison.

Daniel Bonnar stashed the mail, as well as electronic delivery scanners, in his own car because he couldn't cope with his workload.

Bonnar, 27, committed the offences between October 2015 and January 2017 but he was only caught earlier this year after putting his Vauxhall Corsa in for an MOT.

The town's sheriff court heard how a mechanic at a garage alerted police when he saw stacks of undelivered mail in the car.


But despite the serious offence, Bonnar was handed a community payback order by a sheriff because he has mental health problems.

Defence lawyer Edward Sweeney told the court: "He had been under intense pressure at work.

"While these items referred to had, in effect, been stolen he had made no attempt to open any of the items in question.

"They were not stolen for personal gain."

Bonnar — who no longer works for Royal Mail — was arrested and charged with the thefts on April 29.

Police also found that he'd been driving his car without insurance.

He had worked as a postman for 15 months, the court was told.

Solicitor Mr Sweeney said: "This is a case where he hadn't intended the distress he caused to the individuals concerned.

"There had been a severe deterioration in his mental health at the time.

"His mental health has been historically fragile as he lost his mother at the age of just nine in tragic circumstances."

Mr Sweeney added: "I understand that his workload was intolerable at the time, and the combination of circumstances resulted in what has happened here."

Prosecutor Jennifer McKee told how 'numerous' letters, packages and flyers were in the car.


The fiscal depute said: "The accused had booked the car into a garage for an MOT and workers there identified the items and phoned the police."

Sheriff Andrew McIntyre remarked that the background report on Bonnar, of Wallace Street, indicated that he 'abdicated his responsibility and put his head in the sand'.


The lawman told him: "I have taken into account the circumstances here, but that is not to excuse the offence for which you have a criminal conviction now.

"It is not a minor matter and you were in a position of considerable trust with the Royal Mail, and people need to be able to rely on that.

"Particularly in light of your mental health problems, an alternative to custody should be offered at this stage."

Bonnar was placed under supervision for a year and ordered to complete 130 hours of unpaid work within nine months, reduced from 200 hours due to his guilty plea.

The sentence has been imposed as a direct alternative to prison.

[Mr Rush]

O Danny Socks, the IB is calling.

So that explains the constant shortage of PDAs. Don't know what he was keeping them for since part of the reason he was 'let go' was his persistent failure to scan anything - trackeds, specials, collections. Working with him for a week was a nightmare. It was like trying to do the three-legged race with someone who doesn't want to budge off the starting line.

I don't want to appear flippant regarding his alleged mental health issues; he seemed perfectly fine in conversation off the subject of work, but the consensus in the office was that he was extremely lazy. Happy to return chunks of a walk unendorsed, and I've never seen someone so relaxed putting a special through a door at 2PM.

Well, others in his predicament haven't been so lucky as to avoid prison time.