Villagers call for return of favourite Evri courier

Hundreds sign petition after delivery man moved

More than 200 residents have signed a petition calling for their much-loved Evri courier to return to his route.

The community of Dundonald have signed the online form in their droves, after they lost popular delivery man Samuel Skyes.

Samuel was taken off the route known as Route 67 after his car broke down just after the busy festive period.

The dedicated worker left neighbours devastated when he broke the news on an online community page that Evri bosses have moved him to another route.

But one defiant villager, Colin Meldrum, vowed to fight back as he set up the online petition which has already smashed the 200 signatories target set.

A statement on the public petition reads: “Samuel Sykes, a beloved delivery driver in Dundonald, has recently been removed from his route.

“This change has been met with disappointment by the community who have come to appreciate his professionalism and friendly demeanour.

“Evri, the courier company he works for, consistently receives low customer satisfaction ratings.

“However, Samuel was an exception to this trend and was highly regarded by the residents of Dundonald.

“We believe that reinstating him on his previous route will not only benefit the community but also improve Evri’s reputation in our area.

“Therefore, we call upon Evri to reinstate Samuel Sykes as our delivery driver and restore a service we were happy with.

“Please sign this petition if you support our cause.”

Resident Marie Flynn has told how

Samuel would go “above and beyond,” for her, with the reliant parcel courier delivering a personal touch to the job.

She told the Post: “He goes out his way to help you. I’ve got three wee dogs, and when I was looking after my mum who was ill for a long time, Samuel would deliver a parcel and he’d let my dogs out too.

“I always knew whatever I ordered was going to be safe. If he was late, he’d phone to say, or if there was any issues he’d look into it.

“Even last week when I had an issue with getting a parcel picked up, he sorted it out for me even though he wasn’t on the route.

“Before Samuel arrived every parcel I got delivered was ripped open. I’ve never once had an issue with him.”

Marie is hoping that the petition will help Evri have a change of heart.

She added: “Samuel goes above and beyond for us.

“He doesn’t take a lot of time off, he’s a hard working young dad with a young family.

“At Christmas he was out in allweathers, sometimes until 9pm at night delivering parcels.

“He just wanted people to get their parcels on time and in one piece. He cared a lot about that.

“A bit of compassion from Evri would go along way here.

“We hope they listen and Samuel gets his route back.”

It’s understood Samuel has been moved to another route which has less deliveries than he previously carried out.

A spokesperson from Evri said: “It’s lovely to see the positive feedback from Samuel’s community.

“He still delivers for Evri, in a different area.”