A POSTMAN sacked for staging a rooftop protest has avoided a jail sentence.

Paul Dawson scaled Royal Mail's Burslem delivery office for the second time on August 11, minutes after being sacked for a previous rooftop demonstration in March.

The 40-year-old from Ball Green, was one of 12 employees suspended at Burslem two years ago over allegations of bullying, which sparked weeks of strikes by sympathetic colleagues.

He was exonerated, but climbed on to the roof in March to demand a public apology from the firm.

That apology was issued, but his second protest saw him charged with trespass and willfully delaying the post.

Mr Dawson, who had worked for Royal Mail for 20 years, was given a six-month community order at North Staffordshire Magistrates' Court in Fenton yesterday.

He had pleaded guilty to aggravated trespass at an earlier hearing, but his case had been adjourned for reports.

Laura Jones, prosecuting, told the court 25,000 items of mail were not delivered on August 11, because 70 members of staff were forced to stay outside the depot while Mr Dawson was on the roof.

Another 130 special deliveries failed to arrive before the 1pm deadline.

Miss Jones said: "A police negotiator at the scene said Mr Dawson refused requests to come down from the roof and said it was his intention to cause as much distress as possible for Royal Mail.

"He said he believed he had been wrongly dismissed and went on to the roof to draw attention and publicity to how he had been unfairly treated."

Kevin Mortlock, defending, said Mr Dawson's judgment on August 11 had been clouded by his emotions.

He said: "He was at a very low ebb after being dismissed.

"Since 2006 he had problems with his employer and his father was diagnosed and died from cancer.

"Mr Dawson fell into a state of depression and the situation has had a significant impact upon him."

The father-of-one appealed against his sacking in August, but discovered just before Christmas that his dismissal had been upheld.

He applied for an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal in December and is waiting for a date to be set for his case to be heard.

After yesterday's hearing Mr Dawson told The Sentinel the sentence was "a massive relief".

He said: "I've been waiting months for this. At the end of the day I'm not a criminal and I do not feel what I did was a criminal offence.

"At the last hearing the magistrates said a custodial sentence was an option, but I feel it would have been an injustice if I'd been sent to prison.

"The sentence I received is a good result and I can now start to move forward."

Mr Dawson's partner and mother of his seven-month-old son Joel, Jenny Hulme, said: "I'm very relieved. We can now look to the future."