Royal Mail has banned a postman from wearing a fancy- dress costume illustrating his job’s most famous hazard.
Michael Nelhams, 51, has been cheering up residents during lockdown by wearing wacky outfits to deliver post.
But one pair of inflatable trousers with a dog biting his rear was deemed “insensitive” after a complaint.
Dad-of-two Michael has been delivering mail in his home town of Mablethorpe, Lincs, for 18 years.
He said: “I’m still going out in fancy dress, but not wearing the dog-biting-bum costume.
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“I’m keeping the spirit of my customers up and making many people smile in these hard times.”
Mum-of-three Lindsey Roughan, 33, said her
kids loved the outfits and added: “When I heard he’d been ordered to stop wear- ing the dog-bite one I thought it was a joke.”
Royal Mail said: “Last year saw 2,484 dog attacks on postmen and women across the UK, some resulting in serious injury.”
Postal workers have been branded silent soldiers as they work to keep the country connected during lockdown.
They have been doing so with a lack of protective equipment, major social distancing challenges and, like the rest of us, fear for their own safety and that of their family.
Whilst most of us lockdown at home, postal workers have been doing what they have done for the last 500 years: delivering mail and parcels to households and businesses to keep the nation moving.
Over the last few weeks we have seen an outpouring of support for key workers who are caring for our sick and serving our communities.
The slogan “may they never be deemed low-skilled again” has echoed across the country as people reassess the contribution that certain people make to our society.
