Postal worker jailed for stealing from blind man’s account

A Royal Mail worker who lives in Thame, has been jailed for fraud after he stole cash from the accounts of two different people, one of whom was a blind man.

Damon Alvey, aged 45, had previously pleaded guilty at Oxford Crown Court to one count of theft of a mail bag and four counts of fraud. He was jailed for 10 months.

The court heard how Alvey was working at a Banbury sorting office where he targeted mail he thought contained bank cards and pin numbers. It was these items of mail that he then used to withdraw cash from his two victims’ accounts.

Darren Blythe, who is registered blind, had £3,133 stolen from two accounts between August and October 2013, one of which was used to pay for Mr Blythe’s support worker and recreational activities.

When police raided Alvey’s house they found mail belonging to 15 victims as well as mail that had been shredded.

Alvey’s defence lawyer, Timothy Greaves, told the court that at the time of the offences his client was in ” a bad place” and had fallen into debt and into a drinking habit after the break up of a relationship.