A VICAR turned postman when he found 61 letters dumped in a wheelie bin outside his church.
The Rev Julian Hartley, of St John's Church, Mosley Common, delivered half the letters himself after a stand-in postman failed to distribute them to the correct addresses, and returned the rest to the Royal Mail.
"I did not want a load of letters lying around on my desk overnight, so I took the mail myself," said Mr Hartley.
The problems happened when a temporary postman began deliveries in the area, but Mr Hartley said the problem was not just a local one. "It is a national problem. Temporary agency staff are being used in London, too," he said.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We apologise for the inconvenience caused to customers. We have launched an investigation and will take measures against those responsible."
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