Former Desborough postman sentenced

A former Desborough postman has been given a suspended prison term by Northamptonshire magistrates after admitting to stealing money from the mail.

38 year-old David Starkey had been delivering letters in his home town of Desborough for over a decade before an investigation into damaged post was launched.

Suspicions were raised after mail showed signs of being opened in the sorting office on the night shift – where Starkey was one of just two workers.

When challenged he admitted stealing about 10 items of post a day for around a year – looking for greeting cards with money inside them to pay off gambling debts.

The remorseful postie then quit his job. Magistrates ordered Starkey to pay £335.29 in compensation to Royal Mail to cover replacement postage costs and a £115 victim surcharge.

He was also handed a 26-week jail term – suspended for a year – and made to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work plus 25 rehabilitation days.