A post office worker in England who failed to deliver some 30,000 pieces of mail then squirreled it all away at his home has been ordered to perform 280 hours of community service, the Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The postman, Paul Willicott, told authorities in Torbay that he did not have the time to deliver all of the mail during his four-hour shift. Overwhelmed, he ended up stashing it at his house, car and garage.
Willicott, 44, said he intended to deliver the unopened mail when his workload eased but he wasn't able to do so, the Guardian said.
A member of the public spotted Willicott stashing mail in his garage and reported him to authorities.
The Guardian reported that when his garage was searched, 174 pieces of mail were discovered. More was found in the trunk of his car, and 67 bags full of mail were found in his home.
A third of the items found were identified as junk mail.
Judge David Thompson called Willicott's actions "a significant breach of trust," the Guardian reported.