Jail for pair in brazen Royal Mail fraud

ABIRMINGHAM couple who cleaned used postage stamps with hair spray and then sold them in a massive Royal Mail fraud have been jailed.

Wendy Baker and Dean Westwood would buy used first and second class stamps in bulk before using a chemical process involving white spirit and hair spray to remove their cancellation marks. They would then sell them on. It was estimated the five-year scam, run from home, fleeced the Royal Mail out of £400,000 in revenue while the couple pocketed £150,000 in profits.

The vast majority of the sales were to businesses which made multiple purchases.

The pair, of Hengham Road, Sheldon, pleaded guilty to three charges of fraud at Birmingham Crown Court and were both sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.