Published: Tuesday, 11th March, 2008 4:30pm

Mail dump postie may be charged

BAG FIND: Robert Best, who discovered the mail.

A POSTMAN who dumped sackloads of Christmas mail has been forced to leave his job - and he may also face criminal proceedings.

Two bags full of post which should have reached hundreds of people in the run-up to the festive season were found abandoned at a fly-tipping site in February.

Now, following a top-level internal inquiry, Royal Mail bosses admitted the worker at the centre of the scandal has now left their employment.

A spokeswoman told the Tele: 'The postman responsible for dumping the mail has now tendered his resignation. The recovered mail has also now been delivered to our customers.

'Security of the mail is of paramount importance to Royal Mail. It is a crime to tamper with, destroy or dump mail, and anyone involved in any such activity will face serious sanctions. It is also likely a report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.

'The vast majority of Royal Mail staff are absolutely professional and dedicated to delivering the best possible service to our customers. Royal Mail will not allow their reputation to be damaged.'

The bags were discovered by Tele reader Robert Best, who stumbled upon them while hunting for rabbits at wasteground near Bogston train station.

They were found to contain hundreds of items of mail for people throughout Inverclyde. Mr Best said: 'I was furious when I found the sacks. There could have been precious things in there.'

One of the bags had split open, revealing a haul of letters and parcels, including Christmas cards and presents, confidential bank statements and even packages of medicine - all of it soaking wet and much of it damaged.

Among the items was a photo album containing precious family pictures belonging to a Port Glasgow family.

l Do you know who the postman at the centre of the scandal is? If so, call the Tele newsdesk on 558804. Calls will be treated in confidence.

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