Forty-five-year-old John Surtees was hauled before his bosses after 1000 items of mail, advertising the RAC and Sky, were discovered in the garbage at his Drumnadrochit base, overlooking the shores of Loch Ness.His dismissal, and that of 40-year-old colleague David Bell, for gross misconduct had hundreds of villagers rallying behind the pair and signing a petition in a bid to have them reinstate.
Mr Surtees, a postie for nine years, took his case to the tribunal in Inverness, claiming unfair dismissal.
The hearing was told how sub-postmaster David Paterson discovered the bundles of mail in the bin outside the post office on 7th September last year.
During internal investigations by Jeff Heafey, delivery sector manager for the Inverness area, another postman, a former police sergeant, claimed he witnessed his colleague dumping the items.
Mr Surtees, during a disciplinary hearing, claimed he was the victim of a set up, informing his boss there was "bad-feeling" within the rural post office.
"Door to door mail is one of the Royal Mail's biggest earners. It is an increasing business," said Mr Heafey. "If we relied solely on the delivery of first class and second class mail we would be loss-making and unable to survive."
He carried out a series of interviews, including those with the sub-postmaster and various other posties and relief postmen and women who operate out of Drumnadrochit.
A bundle containing 215 RAC leaflets was specifically assigned to Mr Surtees for his Bunloit route in the village on 6th September but were found in the bin the following morning, he said.
Mr Heafey said he interviewed Mr Surtees and he could not explain how they had got there. When the manager told the postie he had been witnessed by a colleague of putting those RAC leaflets in the bin, Mr Heafey said he replied: "I believe this is a set up."
"He told me there was a history of bad feeling among members of the team. But there was nothing to suggest Mr Surtees had been set up."
Mr Heafey explained contracts involving delivery of door-to-door mail usually required the items being delivery within seven days.
Posties were asked to attempt to deliver 20 per cent of their allotted mail each day of a five-day week in a bid to meet that requirement.
Failure of delivery through "junk' mail" being dumped or disposed of could lead to the Royal Mail being fined for failing to meet their Universal Service Obligation.
Mr Surtees' case continues. His colleague, David Bell's tribunal is due to go ahead tomorrow.
