Hungry horse eats the mail

Jacklyn

THE dog didn't eat the homework but the horse certainly ate the mail.

A postie unwittingly made a meal out of the mail when a bag of horse feed supplement was dropped at the front of a woman's house.

Her horse leant over the fence to claim the package for itself, with the incident seen as an example of the failures of Australia Post's new safe drop program.

For the past year and a bit, Australia Post has been trialling a system where packages - too big to fit in mailboxes - are left in a safe spot at someone's home.

It's aimed at streamlining delivery in the era of internet and phone shopping.

But the safe drop hasn't been glitch-free.

The case of the hungry horse was one of 37 complaints received since the trial began in September 2008.

The postal industry ombudsman said the low number of complaints showed the safe drop program was working, but suggested Australia Post be more flexible when it came to those who wanted to opt out of the scheme.

The horse owner was only allowed to do so after the ombudsman intervened.

Other complainants worried that passers-by could see their dropped parcels, or that it was exposed to the elements or pets.

There were 2,315 complaints about Australia Post in the year ending September 2009.

Australia Post says its safe drop program is still a success and will continue.