A POSTMAN who stole money from birthday cards has been spared jail.

Ian Christopher McKennan, 20, was caught taking money from letters and packets, York magistrates heard.

Now no longer working for the Royal Mail, he hopes to train as a veterinary nurse.

Andrew Thompson, prosecuting for the Royal Mail, said its investigators mounted an undercover sting operation after a member of the public alerted them to McKennan's thieving ways. She had seen him stuffing greetings cards into a litter bin near a bus stop on his round. One of the cards appeared to be intended for a child.

The investigators planted specially-prepared letters in his delivery bag and followed him as he walked his round. When he failed to deliver one of them as he should have done, they pounced and found he had held on to two genuine letters as well. They also found undelivered mail at his house.

McKennan said he had stolen about £55, from different letters over some time.

He had joined the Royal Mail on September 29, but had not started stealing immediately, and he had not stolen every day.

McKennan, of Bell Farm Avenue, off Huntington Road, York, pleaded guilty to three offences of stealing from the mail.

He was ordered to do 200 hours' community punishment, put under curfew for three months and ordered to pay £100 costs.

His solicitor, Julian Tanikal, said his client was now working as a cleaner. He had been going through difficult times in connection with family relationship breakdowns and other matters. That had put him under stress and led to him committing the offences.

The lawyer handed in letters from McKennan, and his parents. He said his client was ashamed and remorseful for his behaviour and wanted to train as an animal nurse.

Mr Thompson said McKennan had worked from the Birch Park sorting centre between September 29 and November 11. The member of the public had spotted him throwing away mail on November 1 in the Stockton Lane area.

Updated: 08:49 Friday, April 15, 2005