A postman who was ambushed by a gang of five-year-olds squirting water pistols at him has been banned from a street – after confiscating their weapon.
CCTV footage shows Cody Harvey and his two mates squirting each other and messing around when a Royal Mail post van pulls up on the street.
The mischievous schoolboys, who live on the same road, then turn their pistols on the vehicle and fire at the postman when he gets out to deliver a parcel.
But the joke doesn’t go down well with the postie, who angrily snatches the £12.99 water gun from Cody.
He then marches up to the van, chucks the plastic toy in the back and drives off.
Cody’s mum Leanne Jeremiah, 29, of Trebanog, Mid Glamorgan, said the village shop owner later found the water gun dumped in her bin.
Horrified Leanne, who was at work at the time while her mum looked after Cody, claims the postman also called her son a “f*cking b*stard”.
Royal Mail described the worker’s behaviour as “not acceptable” and said he will not be delivering to addresses on the family’s street until further notice.
Leanne, an office worker, said: “When I watched the CCTV I was furious.
“The postman grabbed my little one’s arm and snatched the gun. Then my little boy must have said, ‘Squirt him,’ or something, just messing around.
“He grabbed his arm and swore at him and called him a ‘f*cking b*stard’ and then ripped the gun out of his hands.
“He was swinging it around and then he chucked it in the back of the van and drove off with it.
“Why he didn’t just come and see my mum if he had a problem I don’t know.
“My little one was screaming and crying and my mum asked, ‘What’s the matter?’ She came out to see him and the postman spun off down the street.
“Cody was a bit shocked. He was frightened more than anything and he was devastated to lose the toy. He loved it.
“They were probably being cheeky but he is only a child at the end of the day.
“The man shouldn’t have responded like that. He is representing Royal Mail after all – he shouldn’t be doing stuff like that.
“They were just boys being boys and having fun.”
Leanne added that the boys told her one of the Royal Mail workers was opening and closing the van door and flicking elastic bands at them.
She said she complained to Royal Mail on the day of the incident 10 days ago (18/04) and called them five times before receiving an apology on Friday.
Leanne, who lives with partner Ian Harvey, 37, a drainage engineer, added: “I told them what I thought and they said he shouldn’t have done it.
“They also said that they are going to remove him off this area so I don’t have to come into contact with him.
“They also said they are going to send me a letter of apology.”
The postal service company said it is dealing with the matter internally and confirmed that the employee in question will no longer be delivering to Leanne’s street.
Spokeswoman Sally Hopkins said: “Royal Mail expects the highest standards of behaviour from our staff whilst out on deliveries and this is not acceptable behaviour.
“We have apologised to the customer and will be sending her a cheque so she can buy her son a new toy.
“We are now dealing with this internally and this postman will not be delivering to this address until further notice.”
Imagine you have a stressful day at work and some brats squirt water at you. Who wouldn’t get mad? That mother is representing a bad role model after all.