Postie says sorry for hoarding mail (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Postie says sorry for hoarding mail

Sacked postman Matthew Vines at his home yesterday (17089/3)POSTMAN Matthew Vines, who was sacked after hoarding thousands of letters he should have delivered, has apologised to his customers.

Yesterday he said he was sorry but hoped the fuss will soon die down.

Other postmen in Malmesbury are furious with Mr Vines who was caught after the undelivered mail was found in his car when he took it for repair.

He said: "I'm sorry about what happened. But it wasn't personal. I am now looking for a new job."

Mr Vines, who has a young son, said he hopes the fuss will soon blow over but disputed that he hoarded 3,500 pieces of mail.

Mr Vines' father Michael, of Manor Farm Cottages, Garsdon, said his son had not given an explanation why he had kept the letters.

The 49-year-old father who works as a pallet buyer, said: "Matthew has not talked about it and I never asked. He is old enough and daft enough now to learn from his own mistakes. Different people have asked me if I knew who was sacked and I didn't say."

Matthew's brother, 23-year-old Mark Vines, said: "Matthew never said anything about it."

Matthew Vines said he is not aware of any impending prosecution. But this week Royal Mail said this was still an option it is considering.

Mr Vines, from Gloucester Street, Malmesbury, was dismissed about three weeks ago for not delivering the post to villages around Malmesbury.

A total of 800 items of addressed mail and 2,700 door-to-door unaddressed mail, like leaflets, should have reached customers between May 31 and July 1. Malmesbury postman Stephen Andrews said Mr Vines's actions had angered other staff. Mr Andrews, who has worked for three years at the delivery office, said: "We were very upset and angry because it's a major impediment between us and the public. It's a trust issue. It reflects badly on the rest of us.

"We are very unhappy about it. Matthew was always quicker and we always knew there was something bizarre about him. He would do about a 15-20 mile route and be an hour quicker than the rest of us. He hasn't said anything to us. I've seen him in the street and he blanked me."

Since the discovery of the 3,500 items of mail, Royal Mail delivered the addressed mail to customers by July 15, together with a covering letters apologising for the delay and explaining the circumstances.

The affected areas were: Corston and Rodbourne; Lea and Charlton; Milbourne and Brokenborough; Hankerton and Eastcourt, and Sherston. Jane Thomas, external relations manager at Royal Mail, said: "Royal Mail takes the security of customers' mail very seriously.

"We operate a zero tolerance policy towards the mistreatment of mail in our care and will take appropriate action."

She added: "The postman could face prosecution. We have powers of arrest and we can take cases to court. We will decide if it is going to go that way."

Businesswoman Joanna Watchman from Barton Way in Corston said the revelation had rocked her faith in Royal Mail.

Miss Watchman, who runs a press and PR agency in Bristol, said her neighbours Lisa and Simon Ryan had personal mail returned to them which they were hoping to send to Hong Kong. Miss Watchman said: "I have lost my faith in Royal Mail.

"This is a much wider problem than anyone lets on. "It is no wonder Royal Mail is losing business. It gives you no confidence."

Bernard Ingham, chairman of St Paul Malmesbury Without Parish Council said: "We had two or three letters which were lost which were junk mail fortunately."