Evri courier caught poking customer's dogs - but claims he has excuse

An Evri deliveryman has been sacked after he was caught on Ring doorbell allegedly attacking a customer's labradors with a wooden mop.

Zoe Mitchell, 31, was furious when she checked her doorbell camera and saw the man poking the stick through her letterbox towards her beloved two dogs Bella and Reggie.

The driver glares through the partially frosted front door window and then violently thrusts the mop forward again.

Zoe admitted Bella and Reggie bark at whoever knocks at the door of her home in Pontefract, West Yorkshire but are really 'friendly'.  

She told MailOnline: 'It's just me and my dogs and it's made me feel very unsafe.'

Zoe believes the man lashed out because the Labradors may have 'caught' his hand as he tried to post a 'safe place' delivery note.

In footage from seconds before the broom handle attack, the dogs are barking when the man rings the bell.

But Zoe claimed there is no footage of him pushing a delivery note through.

She said her external post box could have been used so did not know why the driver chose to pass the note through her letterbox in the first place. 

Zoe said: 'I felt sick when I saw it [the footage] because I knew they would be up against that door.

'Bella would have both paws on the door and her belly would have been covering that letterbox, so I think he's hit the dogs and it might have shocked them.

'The dogs could have nipped at him but you can't see that on the video and there's a wall-mounted parcel box to use anyway. Even if they did, that doesn't excuse what happened afterwards.

'If they'd have had their mouth open then it could have done some serious damage.

'At first I thought he was throwing the parcel through but when I watched it again he's chuntering something when he walks to the door and he's angry.

'He peeps through the glass, angles the mop and forcibly hits it through, then he pulls it out and throws it down. He seems so aggressive.

'When he hears the dogs barking in the first video he stands back from the door so he knows the dogs have come down the stairs and gone to the door.

'They do dive at the door and bark so people will think I have guard dogs but they're soft as anything when you open the door and they're really friendly.

'He must have been having a really bad day and he might have put the delivery note through and then the dogs could have dragged it off him and caught him.'

Zoe complained to Evri the same day, but was visited by the driver twice afterwards.

However, the parcel giant later confirmed they have sacked the courier and said that while the driver's hand had been bitten when making the delivery, his actions were 'inexcusable'.

Zoe, who claims she reported the incident to West Yorkshire Police, said she had  previously given the 'kind' driver a five-star review.

Zoe said: 'What shocked me and lots of [local] people is he's been the local Evri guy for five years and I've even given him five-star reviews before.

'He's friendly to talk to when I've been in and opened the door and when I've not been in he's left my parcels in my garden by my patio window to make sure they're safe.

'Everyone on the estate has said he's such a friendly, happy chap.'

She has now taped her letterbox shut and stuck a notice on it telling delivery drivers to 'please use the post box on the wall'.

Evri confirmed the driver would not work for them again but said it was a rare incident and their couriers have been awarded more than three million five-star ratings on Trustpilot.

An Evri spokesperson said: 'These actions are not the caring behaviour that we expect from our couriers and we have apologised wholeheartedly to the customer.

'Unfortunately, the courier's hand was bitten when delivering to this property, however their reaction to this was inexcusable. 

'We have a zero-tolerance approach to behaviour of this nature and have taken immediate steps to ensure that this courier will no longer deliver for us.'

West Yorkshire Police have been contacted for comment.