Lesley Richardson A postman was caught wearing a pair of stolen knickers after his bosses became suspicious that packages were going missing.

Lesley Richardson A postman was caught wearing a pair of stolen knickers after his bosses became suspicious that packages were going missing.

Matthew Furness admitted two charges of stealing postal packages belonging to Royal Mail, on October 1 and December 6 last year.

He was caught in a sting operation after postal bosses found an open package in his van, Weymouth Magistrates' Court in Dorset heard.

A DVD horror film, The Burning, was planted in his post bag with the wrong address.

The 35-year-old postman from Weymouth failed to handle it as a mis-sort and did not give it to another bay to deal with, the court heard.

A similar operation took place two months later when a bra and thong by Bravissimo worth £49 were placed in the system and Furness again failed to handle them as mis-sorts. He was caught on CCTV hiding the address on packages and keeping them for himself.

He denied stealing, saying he was being stitched up when confronted, but when he was asked to strip by police looking for the missing underwear he was discovered to be wearing the thong.

Ian Brazier, defending, told the court Furness was an "opportunist" rather than a sophisticated thief and he was undergoing counselling.

He was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £250 in costs.