Postie’s tips deliver gift for youngster after scooter theft
A CARMARTHENSHIRE postman surprised a devastated young boy by giving him his Christmas tips from members of the public so that he could buy a new scooter – after his own had been stolen from his garden.
Gavin Davies has been a postie in Carmarthen for 33 years so he has got to know most of the people on his rounds.
One of those is six-yearold Ollie Davies and his parents.
Ollie’s mother Katie posted on social media that her son’s beloved scooter had been stolen from outside the family home in Tregynwr, Carmarthen.
Ollie was heartbroken, but his mood improved the following morning when an envelope fell on the mat. Inside was a £20 note and a card.
The card read: “Hi Ollie, I heard the sad news about your scooter!
“Just to let you know that not everybody is nasty and cruel. People have been kind to me and given me Christmas tips just for doing my job. So, I want to share them with you.
“Keep scooting champ. Postie x.”
Gavin, 49, said: “I don’t actually work that route regularly anymore but on Friday I was covering for someone and I had seen Ollie on my round.
“People are so nice to us, and as it was the first time I’d worked the Tregynwr area for a while it was a nice surprise for me to get some Christmas tips.
“The next day I saw what Ollie’s mum put on Facebook and I thought I would just give the money to him. I’m from Tregynwr so I know the family and just thought that as I had a bit of spare cash I would help him get himself a new scooter.”
Katie said: “We used the scooter last on Friday and then on Saturday we noticed that it had been stolen from the garden.
“I just posted something quickly on Facebook and it got shared loads of times, but I didn’t think much more of it. Then on Sunday there was a letter addressed to Ollie, so I opened it up and read it to him.
“The message was so lovely and it’s typical of Gavin because everybody around here loves him.”
The stolen scooter was found outside a shop and returned to Ollie, so his mother messaged the postman so that he could have his £20 back.
“I messaged to say it was OK now because, thanks to everyone sharing it on social media, the original scooter had been found and Ollie didn’t need the £20 anymore,” said Katie.
“But Gavin messaged back to say ‘don’t be silly’ and to treat Ollie and his two brothers to something nice during lockdown.
“I was chuffed that we had the scooter back because Ollie loves it but I felt bad that Gavin had given us his money, but he was adamant that he would not take it back!
“But that’s what he’s like, he’s such a nice bloke.”
Chair of Llangunnor Community Council, Robin Griffiths, hailed the postman for his kindness.
He said: “Thank you Gavin Davies, you’re a star and all your friends in the Post Office have kept us going in the community throughout the lockdown.”