THE Royal Mail has suspended a postman in Winchester after complaints about missing deliveries.

Residents in the St Cross area have been hit by missing post in recent weeks.

The problem came to light when residents at Argyll Court block of flats found mail opened and dumped. They had to deliver it themselves.

The Royal Mail internal security has launched an investigation and is preparing a file for possible prosecution.

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We can confirm that an employee from the Winchester Delivery Office has been suspended following an investigation by the Royal Mail security team relating to the intentional delay of mail.

“A report of mail being recovered in the Argyll Court area was received through the answer machine at Winchester Deliver Office but unfortunately the customer did not leave any contact details. We thank them for delivering the mail they recovered.”

The spokesman added: "Royal Mail has a zero tolerance approach to any dishonesty and that stance is shared by the overwhelming majority of postmen and women, who are honest and hardworking and who do all they can to protect the mail and deliver it safely. We will always seek to prosecute the tiny minority of people who abuse their position of trust.