A POSTMAN ended up storing nearly 3,000 items of mail in a unit in Bristol when he couldn't keep up with his round.

Michael Harris, based at the Kingswood delivery office, put in 30 years' service with Royal Mail before being swamped with post on his round. When things got too much he began dumping letters and parcels at home.

Bristol Crown Court heard though he tried to catch up with deliveries, he amassed a mail mountain of 2,754 parcels and letters which he moved to Big Yellow Storage on Winterstoke Road.

He had previously locked Christmas cards in his car, meaning they did not reach the addresses they were intended for until well after December 25. Harris, 48, of Newquay Road in Knowle, originally faced a charge of theft but pleaded guilty to intentionally delaying postal packets.

Judge Susan Evans QC told him: "This was intentional delay of mail, not dishonesty. It was a delay over a significant period of time. It is obviously a serious offence and individuals suffered by not receiving items if mail. It damages confidence in the mail system."

Harris, right, declined to comment and left court wearing a change of top, a baseball cap and a scarf over his face.

Richard Cole, prosecuting, said Harris leased a storage unit from April last year but lapsed on rent and staff opened it to take an inventory.

They found personal possessions as well as boxes and a suitcase stuffed with franked mail, the court heard. Police were called in and liaised with Royal Mail and it was confirmed that there were 2,754 items of assorted post, including 42 opened but complete items and 403 advertising flyers.

Mr Cole said items were dated between February and November 2009, so were some two years late.

He said: "Mr Harris was a former postman who worked out of the Kingswood delivery office.

"He was dismissed in February 2010 for gross misconduct.

"There was an incident at the delivery office in which he locked some mail in his car over Christmas 2009.

"Delivery of the items was due on December 22 and they were not returned until December 30 so he deprived customers of Christmas mail.

"He failed to tell managers it was in his car. He said his keys were locked in the car and he was chasing the RAC to unlock it. That's why he was dismissed."

The court heard Harris was apprehended in July last year near a job centre. Mr Cole said: "He was cautioned and made no reply and when interviewed by Royal Mail investigation officers he refused to identify himself."

The court heard Harris had a previous conviction in May last year for drink driving and driving without insurance. The judge imposed a 12-month community order, with 100 hours of unpaid work. She ordered Harris to pay £250 compensation to Royal Mail.

Nicholas Arthur, defending, said it was delay, not theft, which landed his client in trouble. Mr Arthur stressed that though 42 items were open, their contents remained.

He said: "He does not accept any form of dishonesty or financial motivation. It's an aside that 42 packages – 1.7 per cent – of the overall amount were open."

Mr Arthur said his client was employed by Royal Mail for 30 years and for a very large part of that had served his employers and the public perfectly properly.

He said Harris was commended in 2003, but then dismissed and re-instated in a different role in Kingswood, which led to difficulties.

He told the court: "He was assigned a number of different walks. (delivery rounds). He struggled with those and he didn't complete the work. He didn't place himself under the doctor, he just didn't manage.

"These difficulties were the subject of warnings as it was deemed an appropriate amount of work for someone in his position.

"In November 2008 he was informed of disciplinary action for not completing rounds and in Christmas 2009 he was suspended on Christmas Eve and dismissed shortly after."

Mr Arthur said mail in Harris' car attracted attention as it was reported by a member of the public.

He said: "He was retaining mail. He tried to complete it with his next round but it became wholly unmanageable. The storage of mail was not sinister. He had been returning items to his home but was struggling to pay rent and put his belongings into the storage unit. It was mail and his worldly possessions.

"He didn't seek to destroy mail. He recognised it had to be returned."

The court heard after a marriage split father-of-one Harris either lived with his mother or in youth hostels.