A FURIOUS resident put his postman in the dog-house after a stray animal put a block on his benefit cheque.

Ian Floyd was anxiously waiting for his incapacity benefit Giro to drop through the letter box on Tuesday morning.

But it did not arrive because the postman was frightened off by a dog roaming in Hibernia Street, Deane.

Mr Floyd said: "My girlfriend spotted him and she called the dog across because it was barking.

"It's a stray that's round here a lot, but it's not vicious as far as I know and always shuts up when we tell it to."

He added: "As far as I'm concerned the postman should get on with delivering letters unless a dog is actually going for them and biting them. He wasn't our regular postman because he knows the dog's OK."

Because he was desperate to get his money Mr Floyd went to Bolton central post office to try and collect the cheque.

He said: "I would have thought they would hold things like that for a few hours in case people came down for them. But when I got there they said it had gone back in the system and there was no way I could get it.

"We've got a five month old baby in the house and needed that money urgently but because of they way it was handled we were stuck. It's crazy."

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "The threat of an attack by a stray dog prevented the postman from completing his round in the Hibernia Street area.

"We apologise to customers for any inconvenience this may have caused. Mail will be delivered at the earliest possible opportunity."

They added: "The Royal Mail takes very seriously the problem of dog attacks and we appeal to our customers to help ensure the safety of postal staff by keeping their dogs under control."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.