The case of the postman seen stuffing letters down a drain at Wrose is the latest in a disturbing list of stories about mail which has been mislaid or misappropriated. The Royal Mail has apologised for this latest incident, but an apology simply isn't good enough.

The decline in quality of Britain's postal system is disturbing. It is bad enough that the first-class service can no longer be guaranteed to get letters to their destination by the following morning and that the one delivery a day to which we are now entitled can arrive any time up to teatime.

However, now added to the injury of a slower service is the insult that not only will letters arrive late but they might not arrive at all. Instead they could be dumped behind a bush in a park, thrown over a wall on to an embankment or, indeed, stuffed down a drain.

It seems clear that while (as a Royal Mail spokesman says) the vast majority of staff are honest and hard-working, a minority are not. There appear to be problems with recruitment, training and management if these rotten apples are able to mishandle or deliberately throw away letters.

An efficient, reliable postal service is essential to the smooth running of the nation's affairs. Letters must get there (even if they get there late).

If that isn't always happening, the Royal Mail must put its house in order. Those who are caught abusing their position need to be properly punished as part of a determined drive to give the British public the postal service they deserve.