All in his stride

A disabled customer in Clevedon, North Somerset, has praised the actions of postman Vanden Lockett for saving his life.

When Simon Hurley came back from his next-door neighbour’s house after letting his friend’s dog out, he started feeling poorly.

‘I had just gotten inside my kitchen door and was heading to the living room when I collapsed,’ said Mr Hurley. ‘I don’t think I’m fully aware of what actually happened, but I’ve suffered seizures and mobility issues for a number of years.

‘Vanden has been delivering to my address for several years now and due to my disabilities, he often pops into my house with my mail and checks on my wellbeing.

‘I know that he does the same for some of the other frail or disabled residents who live on the estate. I’m not sure many people know this, but they should. He really is a great postman.

‘On the day I had the fall, I can remember a bright red jacket, but I couldn’t work out what was going on until I started to come around from the seizure. I had hit my head on my coffee table and wasn’t in a very good way.

‘Vanden called an ambulance and got my neighbour to sit with me. I hadn’t put my heating on that morning, and I think that if Vanden hadn’t checked on me, I could have been lying there for some time. I wouldn’t have been able to get up off my floor on my own, so the whole episode could have been a lot more serious than it was.

‘I’d like to thank Royal Mail on the training they give their staff and I’d like to say a huge thank you to Vanden for how professional he was on the day. I hope our estate never lose him as he is so good with the community. It would be a big loss to us on the estate as well as to Royal Mail.’

Following the incident, Vanden, who has been with Royal Mail for 20 years, said: ‘Mr Taylor is one of my regular and more vulnerable customers. I'm just really glad I was in the right place at the right time to be able to help him.’

Clevedon delivery office manager, Tony Reed, said: ‘Vanden took this incident in his stride.

‘I had to explain to him what a great thing he had done. This could obviously have been a tragedy for Mr Hurley had it not been for Vanden’s caring nature and him knowing the customers on his round so well.

‘I have only been Vanden’s manager for a few months, but in that time, I can see just how much he cares about his colleagues and customers and how he always goes that extra mile to help out when needed.’