Royal Mail sack postman who left fallen pensioner outside her home

A postman who left a 72-year-old woman lying on the ground outside her home saying he was “too knackered’ to help has been sacked.

Gran-of-two Patricia Stewart fell down the stairs outside her home in Falkirk on February 11 – one of the coldest winters for 26 years.

Postal worker Thomas McCafferty, 51, was caught on camera telling the stricken pensioner ‘I can’t help you pal’ and saying he was ‘too knackered’ to help after the fall in February.

Mr McCafferty was suspended after footage emerged of the incident online and now Royal Mail have confirmed he has been sacked.

She had fallen after she went to pick up a parcel from her front door which Thomas – who was not her regular postman – had left.

Patricia felt ‘a bit dizzy’ having just had her covid vaccine the day before, causing her to fall from the top step to the ground.

She was eventually found by Hermes worker Karolina Domska who alerted Patricia’s neighbours and alerted her niece Sheryl Harkins.

Patricia was left with a lump the size of a ‘big egg’ on her head while her neighbours called an ambulance.

Patricia said: “The postman came with a very small parcel and I went out to pick it up and I felt a bit dizzy, I had had my covid jag the day before.

“I fell from the top step to the bottom and I banged my head, I just couldn’t get up.

“I shouted for the postman to come and help me and he came back, I thought he was coming to help.

“But he said ‘I’ve been working from early this morning and I’m knackered’, and then he went away.

“So I lay there shouting help but nobody heard me and then 15/20 minutes later the Hermes girl saw me and tried to get me up but she couldn’t, and then she said I’ll go get help.

“She got my next door neighbour and he came and helped me straight away.

“He asked if he could contact anyway and then he ran and got my niece.

“They decided I should just stay where I was for the moment, and my other neighbour called an ambulance because it was for a head injury.

“They were frightened because there was a big egg on my head.

“It was really sore.

“I was soaking because I had been lying there for so long, all my clothes were soaked.

“Sheryl got me up onto the bed and I waited there until the ambulance came.”

A spokesman for the Royal Mail said: “Royal Mail expects the highest standards of behaviour from our people while out on deliveries and collections at all times.

“We regularly remind our postmen and postwomen of the important role they play in their local communities.

“We can confirm that the individual concerned has left the business.

“We have also now completed our internal investigation but we are unable to comment further on any outcome for confidentiality reasons.

“We are sorry for the distress this incident has caused.

“We have been in touch with the customer concerned to express our apologies again and to update them following the conclusion of the investigation.”