Royal Mail Honours Local Postal 'Stars'

Nine postmen and women from NI, together with a team of charity workers, have been short-listed for Royal Mail’s annual '1st Class People Awards' 2009.

Customers were invited to nominate Royal Mail people who they thought were the unsung heroes of the local community, '1st Class' charity fundraisers or individuals who performed a public spirited act of bravery or had helped with an emergency whilst out on their deliveries.

The short-listed candidates from around Northern Ireland all demonstrate the exceptional contribution that Royal Mail employees make to their local communities and each will receive £100 in prize money.

Gary Crawford, Area General Manager for Royal Mail, said: "Because our people make daily deliveries to all 27 million addresses in the UK, they are more visible on the streets than many other public sector workers, and are often first at the scene in cases of fire, road accidents, and robbery, and instinctively get involved.

"Postmen and women frequently discover problems when making deliveries. Someone may have had a fall or been taken ill and collapsed, and because they visit the same neighbourhood on a daily basis postmen and women notice when an old person isn’t around and can raise the alarm."

From these nine individuals and one team, judges will choose a regional winner in each category - Bravery, Community Involvement and Charity Fundraising, who will attend a national award ceremony on 30 March.

The regional winners will each receive £500 in prize money and a trophy at the award presentation, where national winners in the three categories will be announced; they receive £1,000.

At the ceremony one of these winners will be overall UK winner of Royal Mail's 1st Class People Awards, winning a luxury holiday and spending money.

(BMcC/JM)