Postman who hid more than 4,000 parcels and letters in loft said he had ‘too many bags to deliver’

A letter is placed into a postbox
A letter is placed into a postbox

A postman who hid more than 4,000 parcels and letters in his loft claimed he had “too many bags to deliver”, a court has heard.

Police found 12 sacks of post, some opened, in Jason Cooper’s attic when they raided his home in Billingham, County Durham, in 2022.

The postal worker, 30, told police he had kept the parcels and letters because he was overworked and had been given too much to deliver.

Before he was due to stand trial, Cooper, a father of three, pleaded guilty to delaying the delivery of and opening some post between 2017 and 2022.

The court heard that, in 2022, a workman called out to Cooper’s address saw the sacks of post in his loft and took photos of the haul before asking him about it.

Cooper told the workman that he “didn’t know anything about” the post before asking: “Should I get rid of it?”

Cooper had failed to deliver 4,000 letters, parcels and leaflets, which included 613 “door-to-door” items that the Post Office received additional money to deliver. He would have been paid extra for the delivery of the items on top of his usual pay.

Bank cards left untouched

The Middlesbrough court heard that the mail, posted between 2020 and 2021, was covered in dust after being stored in his loft for eight months.

Police discovered that although some parcels and letters had been opened, bank cards were left untouched.

When he was arrested and interviewed by police, Cooper said he had been given “too many bags to deliver”.

He had received warnings about his poor time-keeping and for not scanning letters while he was employed as a postman from 2017 to 2022. He was sacked after the arrest.

The court heard that the Post Office had to pay compensation for undelivered items after it received complaints.

Judge Richard Thomas told Cooper: “The days are not long gone where a postman who stole one letter – let alone hundreds or thousands – would go to prison, full stop. In 2024, sentencing guidelines changed and it would be damaging to your family and those young children if I send you down.

“You were employed as a postman. Seemingly, you weren’t the best of workers. You knew full well that you were trusted by the public, and your employers, to deliver the mail.”

Cooper was given a 12-month prison term, suspended for two-years, and was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.