Postman leaves vulnerable 72-year-old woman lying in snow

postman has been caught on camera leaving a vulnerable 72-year-old woman lying in the snow after a fall.

The postie said he was “too knackered” to help Patricia Stewart after she slipped outside her home in Falkirk, Scotland, and called to him for assistance.

Ms Stewart was only rescued when a Hermes worker eventually came to her aid and alerted neighbours to the situation.

The incident was captured on a neighbour’s Ring doorbell and later shared on Facebook by Ms Stewart’s furious niece Sheryl Harkins.

Ms Harkins tagged Royal Mail and added the caption: “Here’s our postman this morning, my Aunt had fallen and was lying on the path in the snow! If you listen closely you will hear the postman telling my Aunt ‘I can’t help you pal I’ve been out working since x time this morning in this weather’ and walks away leaving a 72yr old lady lying in the snow!”

“Luckily the Hermes girl arrived soon after and done what the postman should have and called on a neighbour to help! Thank goodness for that girl because this could have been a very different situation if she hadn’t turned up when she did.

She added: “I honestly don’t have the words for how disgusting this is, for a human being to treat another human being in this manner words fail me.”

Scotland is shivering through its coldest February in 25 years, with Braemar in Aberdeenshire, recording overnight temperatures of -23C this week.

Royal Mail have apologised for the incident and said are investigating.

A spokesperson said: “Royal Mail expect the highest standards of behaviour from our people while out on deliveries and collections at all times. We regularly remind our postmen and postwomen of the important role they play in their local communities

“We were very sorry to learn about this incident, and for the distress this incident has caused. We are in touch with the customer concerned and will be investigating this incident.”

The shocking footage comes as the chairman of Royal Mail Keith Williams apologised for gaps in its service over Christmas, as parcel carriers faced their busiest ever winter.

The company said it is retaining around 10,000 of the 33,000 temporary workers who helped it out over the festive period.

At its peak, the business carried 11.7 million parcels in one day – almost a third more than during the peak of the first national lockdown last spring.

That was part of the 496 million parcels delivered over the last three months of 2020 – an all-time high for the business.