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Angry residents at Reservoir Road in Gourock, who made the shocking discovery, immediately raised the alarm with the postie’s bosses at Greenock sorting office.
The bundle of letters should have been delivered to addresses at ten streets covering the Cardwell Bay area.
But instead they were thrown in a bin and only uncovered by eagle-eyed neighbours, who told the Greenock Telegraph that they have had to endure a “really poor” postal service over the years.
A shocked Reservoir Road resident, one of those who found the missing post, said: “By chance we happened to notice a bundle of mail, still held together by a rubber band used by Royal Mail, inside a public bin on the pavement.
“I contacted Police Scotland, however, I was told it was a matter for Royal Mail and should be reported to them.
“As far as I am concerned my understanding that any form of tampering with mail is a criminal offence.
“There could be important letters in there, including bills.”
The mail was found in the bin by the man on September 28.
He reported it immediately to Royal Mail and an employee from the Inverclyde depot contacted him about the situation prior to an area manager becoming involved.
The man said that a further two days had elapsed before a Royal Mail representative visited his home to retrieve the bundle.
Royal Mail confirmed on Tuesday that a probe had been launched into the incident and an employee suspended.
The company refused to reveal the gender or age of the suspended worker.
The Reservoir Road resident who found the mail said that he and his neighbours have suffered from an unreliable postal service, and have sometimes not received any mail at all.
He said: “My concern is that dumping the mail, our mail, in a bin, might be considered acceptable practice within Royal Mail.
“Living on Reservoir Road for 25 years myself and my neighbours have over the years experienced what can only be described as a shoddy postal service, with mail routinely being put through the wrong letterboxes, not receiving mail during the week and receiving it all on a Saturday, and anticipated mail never arriving. ”
The ten streets affected as a result of the batch of mail being dumped were Clyde Road, Bayview Road, Manor Crescent, Argyll Road, Burnside Road, Rodney Road, Collingwood Terrace, Garvie Avenue, Reservoir Road, and Grenville Road.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “An employee has been suspended as a precautionary measure while a thorough investigation is carried out.”
The company said that all of the mail was delivered on October 2 – four days after it was found in the bin.
