A POSTMAN used his bosses' pre-paid envelopes and took a "mildly pornographic" video from a parcel to watch at home, a court heard.

Ian Laithwaite, 26, a night worker at Colne sorting office, was caught when investigators were called in because of the increasing loss of mail from the area.

Two test packages had been planted and officials found although one had been dealt with correctly, the other was damaged and the video missing.

Laithwaite, who had no previous convictions, admitted three counts of theft and one of opening mail while in transit.

Sentencing him to 60 hours community service, Judge Raymond Bennett said people expected that posted parcels and mail would not be interfered with and would get to their destinations intact.

He said: "Some people seem to think they can help themselves to little bits of their employers' equipment, but it is not allowed."

Laithwaite, of Wellhouse Road, Barnoldswick, was also ordered to pay £300 costs.

Nick Simmonds, prosecuting, said the defendant had worked for the Post Office since Easter 1994 and last October two test packages were placed in a bundle to be sorted. Both were firmly secured.

The defendant had the "curious habit" of going home for breakfast between 2am and 3am and after he left, investigators found one parcel tampered with and a video cassette missing. On his return, the missing video was found and when Laithwaite was interviewed, he said he had used pre-paid envelopes for his own purposes.

The defendant's home and car were searched and three plastic trays belonging to the Post Office were found.

Paul Hague, defending, said Laithwaite had since been sacked.

He became a refuse collector and now had another job.

The theft offences were at the very bottom end of the range of gravity and the opening of the package was perhaps what the case was all about.

The defendant insisted the package was battered and insecure.

It contained a "mildly pornographic" video and Laithwaite took it to watch it and brought it back.

The defendant had worked for the Post Office most of his working life and his sacking had a heavy impact on him.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.