15 setembro, 2008 - Published 15:43 GMT

Carteiro esconde 20 mil cartas na Alemanha

There's an old saying amongst postmen the world over: the mail must get through. But a postal worker in Frankfurt appears to have decided that the mail must get hidden.

German police say the man, who'd been working for a leading courier company, had failed to deliver post for over a year - choosing instead to hoard it at home in his flat. When police raided his apartment, they discovered an Aladdin's cave of undelivered letters: they found envelopes stuffed under the mattress, parcels packed into cupboards, mail squirreled away in every nook and every cranny.

It's thought the postman, who police say was born in Scotland, had failed to deliver more than twenty thousand items. He was caught when a neighbour spotted him disposing of lots of letters. Asked by police why he'd done it, the courier claimed he'd had a lot on his plate - he'd been attending evening classes and hadn't had time to deliver the post.

Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, Berlin

an old saying
a well-known and wise statement

get through
be delivered, reach the addressee

courier company
a firm which delivers important messages or packages quickly

to hoard
to gather in large numbers and keep in a safe, often secret, place

raided
suddenly entered and searched

Aladdin's cave
a secret place (usually a place with many interesting and valuable things)

in every nook and every cranny
in every part of his flat

spotted
noticed

disposing of
throwing away

a lot on his plate
many other things to do