3 December 2006 - The actions of postman Roger Annies, who told customers how to avoid getting junk mail has led to more than 200,000 people signing up to opt-out schemes.
In August this year Mr Annies leafleted about 70 households on his round about opting out. His campaign came to the attention of Royal Mail bosses who suspended him, after which he got a backroom job. The story became headline news and drew support from people around the country.
The Mailing Preference Service says it has since seen a massive growth in the number of people registering with the service. A spokeswoman said: "There has been a huge increase. Since the end of August the figures have gone up by 200,000 in about a month, although they have now returned to a relatively low level."
Mail delivery consumer watchdog Postwatch said the rise was clearly a result of the publicity given to Annies' case. A Postwatch spokesman said that while Annies had leafleted people about a different service - the Royal Mail scheme to opt out of unaddressed junk mail - he had highlighted the issue as a whole.
"Without a doubt this increase is because of the publicity surrounding Roger Annies but, at Postwatch, we think it was Royal Mail's reaction that led to hundreds of thousands of people opting out. People saw someone was doing something human and sensible and was being victimised for it."
Mr Annies said he did not regret his actions. In an interview for BBC News he said: "I still think, and have always thought, from a moral point of view I haven't done anything wrong. There's a time when you start to doubt yourself, but when so many people come to you and say what a great thing you've done it helps you keep your head up."