Postman turns sleuth to ensure 'somewhere in Sheffield' package from Sweden reaches grateful recipient

This parcel sent from Sweden and addressed to ‘somewhere in Sheffield’ amazingly reached its grateful recipient thanks to a dedicated postman’s detective work.
By Robert Cumber
Published 23rd Apr 2020, 16:48 BST
Updated 24th Apr 2020, 14:56 BST
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David Easson told how a Scandinavian friend posted the package with only Mr Easson’s name, the city and a potted biography of the intended recipient, including his wife’s name, the fact he had covered the Olympics and that he has ‘a child, or a dog, or both’.

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The parcel was labelled as containing ‘vital survival stuff’ and the message ended ‘please try to find him and give this to him. And dear postman, stay safe’.

The package addressed to David Easson 'somewhere in Sheffield'The package addressed to David Easson 'somewhere in Sheffield'
The package addressed to David Easson 'somewhere in Sheffield'
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Mr Easson, a 41-year-old sports reporter living in Hunters Bar, said the first he knew about the package was when he received a 3.35am Facebook message from a postman called Darrell Gilmour.

“That was a surprise. I know they're working really hard at such a difficult time. I felt a bit bad that my crazy Swedish friend hadn't just asked for my address!” he said.

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“I was amazed it got to Sheffield to be honest. Marten put enough stamps on! For him to take time out to get on Facebook and find me was great. Although Marten had put a fair bit of my CV on the envelope.

Darrell Gilmour, who has worked for the Royal Mail for 30 yearsDarrell Gilmour, who has worked for the Royal Mail for 30 years
Darrell Gilmour, who has worked for the Royal Mail for 30 years

“I just want postal workers to know they are very much appreciated at this time.”

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As for the ‘vital survival stuff’ the package contained, it was a pack of chocolate bars called Kvikk Lunsj which Mr Easson likened to KitKats and said he had been ‘hankering after’ since first sampling in 2012 while covering the Youth Olympics in Norway.

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Mr Gilmour, a 57-year-old grandfather-of-two who lives in Hillsborough and has worked for the Royal Mail for 30 years, told how he was glad to help.

The package contained these chocolate bars, which Mr Easson likened to KitKatsThe package contained these chocolate bars, which Mr Easson likened to KitKats
The package contained these chocolate bars, which Mr Easson likened to KitKats

“You get a lot of mail with very vague addresses but it’s not often you get so much information about the person it’s meant for,” he said.

“It was actually quite easy to find David on Facebook and get in touch. We do try our best to get all mail to its intended destination.

“It’s very stressful at the moment because so many people are sat at home ordering things, but this was quite a nice distraction.”

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