Dyslexic postman fined for dumping post because he couldn’t read addresses

A postman has escaped jail for dumping more than 400 letters in a field because he was dyslexic and struggled to read addresses on envelopes. Disgraced Wayne Daniels, 25, was an agency worker with Royal Mail for two years before he took up the role as postman but never told anyone about his learning disability.

His frustration at not understanding addresses boiled over during a daily round on March 16 this year when drove out to a small village and dumped 420 bills, letters and parcels in a field. A dog walker discovered the stash of mail in a bag by a river in Coates, near Whittlesey, Cambs. the next morning. An investigation found the letters should have been delivered to the Orton Goldhay area of Peterborough by Daniels and a search was carried out at his address.

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Fran Tyler, mitigating, said his actions were caused by his dyslexia, which he had ”not discussed” with his employers. She said: ”He suffers from dyslexia and he was struggling to read the addresses.

”He said it was an impulsive action born out of frustration and said it was a disgrace to himself and to the Royal Mail. He had not discussed the problem with colleagues because of a mixture of pride and embarrassment.” Chair of the bench Linda Glover ordered Daniels to carry out 150 hours unpaid work and pay £750 costs and £24.66 compensation to Royal Mail.