Postworker steals £17k and is spared jail

A Post Office clerk working at the University’s Post Office who stole £17,000 from the Royal Mail has been spared jail, after pleading guilty in Coventry Crown Court.

Clive Haverley, 57, had been cooking the books from March 2007 in the Costcutter Post Office while working behind the counter. He was sentenced to 36 weeks in prison, suspended for a year, on the condition that he completes 150 hours of unpaid work.

Haverley had been employed on Warwick campus since 1991, and was responsible for maintaining the branch’s accounts on a computer system, which “depends on the honesty of the person responsible for using it,” the prosecution revealed in court last week.

A Post Office Ltd spokesman said: “All staff who work in post offices are in a unique position of trust, and it is always disappointing when that trust is breached. The overwhelming majority of people who work in our branch network are professional, honest and provide the highest standards of service.”

Richard Davenport, the defence lawyer who works with Equity Chambers, attempted to explain Haverley’s actions: “Mr Haverley suffers from prostate cancer, he’s lost his job and he’s lost his respect in the local community. He feels deeply ashamed for what he’s done and he will repay every penny he’s stolen and even more than he took in the first place.”

Haverley has already agreed to repay the money he owes to the Royal Mail, secured against the value of his property. No statement was available from Haverley by way of further explanation, but it has been reported that he is in considerable debt.

He was interviewed about the losses on two occasions before coming clean.

Five other staff from the branch were suspended upon the discovery of Mr Haverley’s crime, but were not considered suspects. A new postmaster has since started work there.

The prosecuting attorney, Warwick Tatford, has a long history of prosecuting fraud cases on behalf of the Post Office, which has recently been the victim of a number of fraudsters.

In March, Sabjit Benning was convicted of embezzling over £194,000 from a Post Office in Northern Ireland, and last year two consecutive postmasters were convicted of taking a total of £225,000 from Sway Post Office in the New Forest.

While Mr. Haverley’s exact salary is not known, a new counter clerk in a similar role can expect to earn between £5.93 and £6.50 an hour, according to current post office job offers. His senior position would have provided greater remuneration.

A third-year economist commented that “on that sort of wage, I’m not surprised [Haverley] wanted some extra income, and I don’t think it has impacted on the service I have received whilst at the University”.