A MILKMAN has condemned thieves who stole produce he delivered to an elderly resident on Christmas Eve.

Michael Tinson, who has delivered milk in the area since 1977, spoke of his anger after pints of milk, juice and pots of cream and yoghurt were stolen from outside the Witney home of his 83-year-old customer.

Mr Tinson said thieves targeted the woman’s house and about 10 more of his deliveries on Christmas Eve.

Such crimes made it harder than ever for milkmen to survive in the face of supermarket competition, he added.

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Mr Tinson said: “It’s worse at Christmas when the schools get the half-term holidays and people seem to help themselves.

“These people don’t think twice – they don’t seem to have a conscience.

“They were obviously lurking in the shadows and desperate but if they’d made themselves known to me I would have given them what I could for free in the season of goodwill to all men.”

The pensioner, a widow and grandmother-of-five, added: “I woke up fairly early and tried to get my milk at 6.30am and again at 8.30am.

“Then I realised that the bottle carrier had gone as well and the produce had been taken.

“It was a mean little theft and it was awkward for me because I don’t get about too well and I had to get more stock in.

“It just made me wonder what sort of people would do that.”

She added: “Mike works so hard and has never let me down in 30 years.

“I felt so sorry for him too as if people don’t think it’s safe to order from him they are not going to do it, are they.”

Mr Tinson used to pick up his deliveries from the Dairy Crest base in Oxford Road, Witney, but that closed two years ago.

Since then he has had to get up at 12.30am six days a week to travel to Dairy Crest in Oxford to pick up produce in his own van, so he can begin his deliveries to 300 homes in Witney and the surrounding area at 2.30am.

He said: “Supermarkets might be great for the consumer but they don’t think about how people like us are affected.

“There’s a big difference between the prices we can offer and the prices supermarkets offer.

He added: “We had a bad spate of thefts around 2000 where things just got stolen.

“It seemed to coincide with the building of the Madley Park estate, but since then it has calmed down, until this year.”

Mr Tinson did not report the latest thefts to Thames Valley Police.

A pint of milk at the Tesco stores in Witney costs 49p. From Dairy Crest with home delivery it costs 82p.

No one at Dairy Crest was available for comment.

 


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