Simples scam! Postie stole meerkat toys to sell on eBay

A BENT postie stole dozens of meerkat toys destined for fans of the Comparethemarket.com ads - so he could sell them to collectors on eBay, a court has heard.

David Livesey, 61, avoided a jail term for stealing meerkat toysDavid Livesey, 61, avoided a jail term for stealing meerkat toys[CAVENDISH/COMPARE THE MARKET]

You have actually ruined the last 45 years of your working life by being found out for these offences.

Recorder Anthony McLoughlin

David Livesey, 61, thought his scam was "simples" after netting himself almost £1,500 by helping himself to parcels containing the Aleksandr toys featured in TV promotions. 

But his scheme was exposed after Royal Mail investigators learned that 78 toys had gone missing in the post and put a covert tracking device in one of the meerkat parcels.

Livesey, now jobless and on benefits, of Albion Street, Barnoldswick, Lancashire, was handed a suspended jail term yesterday at Burnley Crown Court after earlier admitting three counts of theft. 

Recorder Anthony McLoughlin told the Royal Mail veteran: "You have actually ruined the last 45 years of your working life by being found out for these offences."

The court heard that Livesey had been caught out when his van was seized after investigators realised their bugged meerkat parcel had not been delivered. 

Enquiries revealed he had sold the sought-after toys for between £5 and £43 a time - and even mailed out the meerkats to his eBay buyers with used postage stamps.

 David Livesey, 61, stole scores of the sought-after meerkat toysDavid Livesey, 61, stole scores of the sought-after meerkat toys [CAVENDISH]

He also took several DVDs dispatched by Amazon during his two year scam. 

Gerard Doran, prosecuting for the Royal Mail, said Livesey had been employed by the Royal Mail for 12 years and 11 months, having started in 2001, when he was rumbled. 

A probe into his activities was triggered when the company received information that he had been pocketing the toys and selling them online. 

In this way he made a profit of £1,430.85, the court heard. 

The toys were only available when an insurance policy was bought or renewed through a company which advertised on Comparethemarket.com. 

They were sent out from the company's mailing house in Blackburn.

Mr Doran said investigators applied for authority to conduct surveillance and two meerkat toys were put into the mail due to be sorted by the defendant. 

Electronic tracking devices were placed in the packages, which were put into Livesey's mail on February 6. One was addressed to a house number on Sycamore Way, that address being part of his route. 

He was watched by investigators while carrying out his duties, before being asked to attend an interview under caution. 

When his Royal Mail van was checked, the stray test packet was recovered, the court heard. 

The prosecutor said Livesey's home was then searched and 31 used stamps and some DVDs were found. Eight boxes of meerkat postal packages with the address labels torn off were also discovered. 

Livesey denied stealing all the recovered items from the post but admitted intending to give the meerkat in the package addressed to Sycamore Way to his grandchild, Mr Doran said. 

He admitted that he had been stealing meerkat toys and selling them on eBay for over two years. 

On owning up to the thefts when quizzed by bosses, Livesey told them he had constantly pinched from colleagues' deliveries.

 The range of toys from Compare the Market has proved popularThe range of toys from Compare the Market has proved popular [COMPARE THE MARKET]

Livesey  admitted stealing a quantity of postal packets containing meerkats at Barnoldswick, between February 5, 2011. 

He also admitted stealing 61 postal packets from February 7, 2014 and taking a postal packet addressed to a property on Sycamore Way, on February 6 this year. 

Livesey also pleaded guilty to having in his possession or under his control used postage stamps for use in the course of or in connection with fraud. 

Mitigating, Kristian Cavanagh,  said: "He is ashamed to find himself before the court for the offences and has demonstrated remorse. 

"He recently had a significant operation for liver cancer, his wound had become infected and he had been readmitted to hospital on Saturday. 

"His financial circumstances are quite bleak. He has remained out of work since these offences." 

The postal worker who had earlier been committed for sentence by magistrates, received six months in prison, suspended for a year, with a three-month curfew. 

David Livesey, 61, leaves court after his sentencing hearing yesterdayDavid Livesey, 61, leaves court after his sentencing hearing yesterday [CAVENDISH]

He was ordered to pay a £80 victim surcharge.

Sentencing him, Recorder McLoughlin said Livesey was an experienced postal worker who had committed a "breach of trust". 

He said the meerkat toys had some "cult interest" to some people and told Livesey: "You had some financial difficulties. 

"That only explains it. It doesn't excuse what you were about. It went on for over two years." 

He added: "You have actually ruined the last 45 years of your working life by being found out for these offences. 

"You have demonstrated genuine remorse rather than self pity for the circumstances you find yourself in."

Aleksandr Orlov the meerkat has become hugely popular as a result of a successful advertising campaign for the price comparison site, which first aired in 2009. 

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