Leatherhead postman knocked off his bike says driver deserved to be jailed

A POSTMAN who was injured in a hit-and-run incident has spoken out after the driver who struck him was jailed.

Steve Burden, 53, who works out of the Leatherhead Delivery Office, was knocked off his bike by unemployed Shane Seamore while on his rounds last December.

Seamore, 32, of Poplar Road, Leatherhead, fled the scene and later reported the car, which belonged to his partner, as stolen.

But he later admitted his guilt and, at Guildford Crown Court on Friday, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for aggravated vehicle taking and perverting the course of justice.

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Mr Burden said: "If the person stays and reports it, the person injured has a much better chance of surviving so I think he deserves what he got.

"In many ways it was lucky it was me and it wasn't an old person or an ill child because he would have killed them."

Mr Burden, of Belmont Road, Leatherhead, suffered a cracked skull, heavy bruising from head to toe and a split eyebrow that needed to be glued as it was too close to his eye for stitches.

He said: "I had a massive headache for three or four weeks. It was almost like having a steel bar around my head.

"I couldn't sleep very well because whichever way I lay it was too sore."

Mr Burden estimates he lost between £1,200 and £1,500 from being off work from December 3 to Boxing Day, the busiest period for postal workers when they receive annual tips from customers.

He spent several months on light duties following his return but is now back to his routine.

"I wasn't going to let it take over my life, I won't stop doing things just because something like that happens," he said.

"I have tried not to let it affect me. The first day I actually got back I had to talk myself into not only cycling out but making sure I did exactly the same thing and cycled the same way.

"It was his fault not mine, so why should I do anything different? I have to mentally push myself through."

Seamore also admitted driving without a licence or insurance and failing to stop at the scene of an accident.

Having spent 106 days on a curfew since the offence, his sentence was reduced by 53 days. He was also disqualified from driving for two years.