A thieving postman caught stealing mail has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Kenton Sargeant prosecuting told Leeds Crown Court Mark Sandell was employed for nearly 28 years operating from the Huddersfield delivery office.

But during an unconnected police search at his Golcar home, some packages were discovered which were not for him or to that address.

He claimed they were items which he had been delayed in delivering but when that was reported to Royal Mail they did not accept that account.

A further search was then done by Post Office investigators with the assistance of the police and 51 packages were recovered at his home.

When Sandell was interview he conceded he had taken a further 20 items over a six year period and sold them at a car boot sale saying he had been in debt.

The packages contained DVDs Blu-ray discs and computer games with an estimated value of around £1,420.

Michael Sisson-Pell representing Sandell said he had got himself into his incredible difficulty through an innocuous mistake.

He had taken the first package home due to a late delivery and then was reluctant to take it back to the depot in case he was criticised for not delivering it on time. He kept it and that started “a chain of events which led him to keep a number of items.”

He told the court many of the packages were unopened and he could not really explain his actions. “He was in a job he loved, he worked for the Post Office for 27 years man and boy. He had many friends there and enjoyed going into work and looked forward to it.”

“At a stroke all that has gone, as soon as the offence came to light he resigned, he knew he would have sacked anyway.”

He said Sandell was now work as a road repair man. “He apologises to his friends and colleagues, he feels he has let them down very badly.”

Sandell, 45 of Fernlea Grove, Golcar, admitted theft and was given a four-month jail sentence suspended for 12 months with 120 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £1,000 prosecution costs.

Recorder Tim Roberts QC said it appeared to be “a thrill seeking adventure” for him to take the packages and keep them at his home rather than through delayed delivery and “when you realised the game was up you admitted this had happened over several years.”

But he said because of his previous service he could suspend the prison sentence.