During his newspaper round he caught several burglars. This was also the case last year: “He rattled the back door of elderly residents and eventually I saw him riding a stolen bicycle.”
Willem quickly called the police, but they were late the suspected perpetrator goes againdue to a lack of evidence. That still bothers Willem. “What’s the point? You often hear that as a citizen you always have to report it. But if you know that nothing is done about it, you as a citizen don’t really feel taken seriously.”
‘They just can’t count’
And then there is the problem with the number of newspapers, which is regularly incorrect. “They just can’t count,” says Westwouder drily. “If I have ten subscribers to a certain newspaper in my neighborhood, I need ten newspapers. Not eight. Because the misery is overwhelming me. Previously the newspapers were delivered to me at three o’clock at night, now sometimes only at half past five. Then I just sit there waiting until I can finally start.”
A few years ago he got corona and was unable to deliver the newspapers for some time. “But before that I never took a holiday and I have never been ill. A day after keyhole surgery on my knee, I drove the car and my wife put the newspapers in the mailboxes.”
‘Good news for criminals’
He has watched over his Westwoud ‘with love’ all these years. “The fact that I’m stopping now is good news for the criminals: they can go about their business again,” he says with a wink. “I’m definitely going to miss it. Many people like to know that someone is walking on the street at night. And that gave me a good feeling.”