A POSTMAN was jailed for nine months after he admitted stealing bank cards he was meant to deliver.

Michael Harvey, an undischarged bankrupt, had started stealing and selling credit and debit cards for £50 each within months of starting work as a postman in Radcliffe.

The thieves he sold the cards to used them to carry out fraudulent transactions to a total value of £3,500.

Harvey was finally caught in a Post Office surveillance operation when he stole specially sent letters containing a bank card addressed to two houses on his round.

When arrested, he said he sold the stolen cards because he wanted some cash in his pocket.

Harvey, aged 43, of Winmarleigh Close, Radcliffe, admitted 10 counts of theft when he appeared for sentence at Bolton Crown Court.

Harvey stole bank cards from the TSB, Barclays and the Halifax, sent to people who lived on his delivery round in Radcliffe. Following the high number of missing bank cards on the round, Post Office investigators were called in.

Michael Webb, security manager for the Royal Mail, was granted permission to put Harvey under surveillance.

He prepared two letters to look as though they had been sent by the TSB to two addresses on Harvey's Radcliffe round. One of the letters did not arrive.

A surveillance team followed Harvey to his home and confronted him as he got out of his car.

The specially-prepared letter was found in the car along with other mail Harvey had tried to hide under a seat cover.

Peter Buckley, defending, said Harvey had been truthful when he said his motive for stealing had been greed, not need.

Recorder Nicholas Braslavsky, QC, said Harvey had breached the trust of both the Royal Mail and the public who were entitled to have their mail delivered safely.

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