Postman who hoarded letters spared jail

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A SPURNED postman who hoarded hundreds of letters he should have delivered to homes in the Kidderminster and Brierley Hill areas has avoided being locked up.

Judge Amjad Nawaz told Jamie Paterson, 38, he had clearly caused major inconvenience to many householders who had not been able to receive items including bank cards, cheques and invitations.

He said members of the public put great faith into Royal Mail to deliver their letters and people who breached that trust were normally put straight behind bars.

But he ruled he was just able to allow Paterson to keep his freedom because at the time of the offences he was suffering from depression because of the breakdown of his relationship and he had an umblemished character.

Paterson, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told, kept over 600 postal packets together with door-to-door leaflets and 22 Lovefilm DVD's - two of which had been opened.

He was rumbled, said Mr John Dove prosecuting, when Jamice Dunne, his former girlfriend, contacted Royal Mail to report finding bags of mail in the garage of her home in Birch Coppice, Brierley Hill.

Investigators recovered the bags containing 406 letters and when Paterson's home in Sedgley Road East, Tipton was searched a further 241 addressed items of mail were discovered.

The delivery items of some of the items went back to 2008, said Mr Dove, when Paterson worked for a short time in Kidderminster having rejoined the Post Office at Brierley Hill in 2010.

"All the mail, where possible, was finally delivered but some of it was several years late," said Mr Dove who added, "Considerable inconvenience was clearly caused by their non-arrival."

Paterson admitted two charges of delaying mail and another of theft and he was given a six month jail term suspended for 15 months.

He was further placed on Supervision by the Judge for 15 months and ordered to carry out 80 hours unpaid work in the community.

Miss Sarah Allen defending said Paterson had been in a "very volatile" relationship and he had undergone counselling after suffering from depression.

Some days it was even difficult for him to get out of his bed, she added, because the breakdown of the relationship hit him so hard.

"He was effectively at a very low ebb."