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A POLICE search of a postman's car revealed hundreds of items of undelivered mail that piled up as he struggled to cope with the demands his job.

He was today acquitted of the theft of another three packages found opened in his posession.

Simon Hathaway, 21, of Dean Garden Rise, High Wycombe, was suspended from his duties as a postman on January 18, after the search.

More mail was later found at his home, and at the home of a friend.

Jude Bunting, defence, told High Wycombe Magistrates Court: "Unfortunately this postman who appears before you was not Postman Pat.

"He didn't have a black and white cat or a big red van. He was not very good at his job. That does not make him a thief."

Hathaway worked for Royal Mail in High Wycombe since April 2007. He both sorted and delivered mail, usually around the Wingate Avenue area of Totteridge.

He pleaded guilty at an earlier court appearance to the charge of intentionally delaying 643 postal packets between July 2007 and January 2008.

The other three opened packages were later discovered. One contained an MP3 player, worth £34.80, intended as a Christmas present to a nine-year-old girl.

Another contained US collecters' coins, worth £21.80, that have never been recovered. The third package contained a small replica of a chocolate Lindt bunny rabbit.

Mark Jones, prosecutor, said: "Mr Hathaway has not been able to provide any satisfactory explanation.

"He treated the packages as his own with no regard to the rights of the legal owner."

Hathaway explained he had trouble coping with his job. He said: "The pressure was from managers. Every day we went in and we're expected to do everything asked of us."

He added that the route he took was hilly, and he often had to carry heavy loads, with nowhere to stop for the toilet. He said he had trouble keeping up, sometimes stopping to deliver the remaining mail another day.

He said: "Sometimes you might need to go to the toilet and have the intention of going back to deliver the mail but never get round to it." He added that he later felt "paranoid" about going back to redeliver the mail.

He said he did not know how the three packages became opened, but suggested the packaging could have torn as it was in his bag.

Hathaway explained to the court he spoke with a Caribbean accent because he had been spending more time there. He said: "I just like the way of life."

Chairman of the bench Christina Wardle said: "We have thought about this very carefully and have, in fact, found it quite a difficult decision to make.

"It is accepted that you failed to deliver 643 further items, which you delayed. We accept that the only item you produced that might have been of value to you was the MP3 player.

"The law requires we give you the benefit of the doubt."

Hathaway will return for sentencing next month, for the charge of intentionally delaying postal packets.

4:52pm Friday 1st August 2008

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