Chiswick
Postman escapes jail for theft
Unpaid
drug debts caused him to steal from colleagues Christmas fund
A
former postman was ordered to do community service and repay the
money he stole after a court heard how he had taken over £4,000
from Chiswick Post Office's Christmas fund. Phillip Michael Allen,
aged 37, admitted the theft in Feltham Magistrates Court.
His defence
was that he had a problem with cocaine addiction and was in debt
to a gang of "vicious drug dealers". As a result he fled
the area to live in Hull.
When the theft
was originally discovered he promised to repay the money to escape
prosecution but failed to do so.
Chiswick Post
Office had previously been the subject of a BBC Watchdog investigation
following reports of lost CDs and videos on the ChiswickW4.com
. The problem became so severe that some mail order companies
refused to deliver to the W4 post-code. Reportedly a post office
employee was found with a large stash of stolen items in his flat.
April
4, 2003
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