A FORMER postal worker wept as a court was told how she had stolen thousands of packages and letters over a four-year period.

The items were found at Rachel Catherine Shute's home, in Darlington.

Investigators found the mail in sacks behind the garage, under the stairs and even in cupboards amongst pots and pans, South Durham Magistrates' Court heard yesterday.

Shute, 24, from Lowson Street, Darlington, pleaded guilty to stealing 141 postal packets and intentionally delaying the delivery of 5,934 postal packets between August 2000 and August last year.

She also asked for a separate offence of intentionally delaying the delivery of 7,949 door-to-door leaflets between October 2003 and April last year, to be taken into consideration.

Allan Devine, for the Royal Mail, told the the court in Bishop Auckland how investigations began last year after a number of complaints from customers on Shute's Darlington round about non-delivery of post.

He said that after questioning Shute, she admitted to having some post in her car and in her home.

A search of her home found 45 bags of mail, which contained 13,997 postal packets - 114 of the packages had been opened.

He said it took postal staff four to five days to sort out all the post and re-send it.

James Luke, in mitigation, described Shute as an extremely shy, nervous and tearful individual who would have found it hard to ask for help from her bosses when her delivery round became too much.

He said: "She would have been unwilling to go to a supervisor and say 'look this is just too much'."

He said that Shute started to take mail home with the intention of sorting it out and delivering it the next day but eventually the situation got out of hand.

Magistrates gave Shute a 12- month rehabilitation order and warned her she was extremely lucky not to go to prison.

Chairman of the bench Chris Day told her: "This is an extremely serious matter. I want you to be under no illusion that this bench considers you should go to prison today. Many members of the public expect you to go to prison today."

He said that pre-sentence reports from the probation service had led to the rehabilitation order. Shute was also ordered to pay £500 compensation to the Royal Mail.