Keith Welsh, 61, was left gutted when the delivery company told him he would no longer be able to cover Walderslade, Wigmore and Boxley in Kent.

He claims he was taken off his route because he took his wife Sharon, 65, to hospital when he should have been working.

Evri told him earlier this month that he would no longer be able to work in his old sector – and would instead be reduced to filling general shifts as they came up.

It was then that the community Keith served in Kent rallied and launched a petition calling for his reinstatement – which attracted more than 58,000 signatures.

Yesterday (Tuesday), Evri said he had spoken to the driver and would offer him a new route, closer to his home.

Reacting to the news, Keith, from Leysdown, Kent, said: “It’s really amazing. I’ve been doing this job for nine years so I know a lot of people – but now they come from everywhere.

“I read all the comments and they are so nice.

“My customers have been really nice to me.

“It’s thanks to all of you that I got my job back. It happened 110 percent because of the petition and all the support.”

Keith is a freelance courier for Evri, which means he can set his own schedule but must ensure a certain area is covered.

His wife Sharon had two strokes in November last year and had to attend several follow-up appointments at St Thomas’ Hospital in London, where he took her.

But he says that after he showed up for work earlier this month, following a hospital visit, he was told his rounds would be confiscated.

He said: “I spoke to two big managers three weeks ago and they said it would be good for me to take it off.

“After my wife had a stroke last year, I told them I would have to take time off work to take her to appointments they thought would be okay.

“But when I arrived the next day, they told me they were taking away my tours because I had gone to the hospital.

“My wife, because she had a stroke, her brain doesn’t work enough and she doesn’t register everything.

“If I wasn’t with her, she wouldn’t go to the hospital. I’m her caregiver and she needs someone with her.”

Evri told the employee they’d offer him a roofing job instead – but Keith says in the three weeks since, he’s never heard back.

A petition was then launched on October 4 on Change.org, claiming that the “reliable and friendly” Keith had been “unfairly fired from his job for a compassionate act of taking his wife to the hospital.”

Now, almost three weeks later, he’s been offered a whole new series of tours, closer to home.

Mr Welsh is not sure where the new road will cover, but he has been told it is in Sittingbourne, Kent.

The delivery driver says he believes the call was due to the “hundreds” of messages of support from people in Medway he has gotten to know over the years.

Neil Relf, ​​who has had Keith deliver his parcels for eight years, said: “There has been a lot of outcry since everyone found out what happened.

“After all that time of someone delivering your packages, you get to know him, so I knew his wife wasn’t well and he had to take her on a date.

“I don’t know him personally but he works in all kinds of conditions – wind and rain. He’s part of the community and he’s a brilliant guy.

Keith says he has no regrets and is extremely grateful to his customers for all their love and support.

He added: “I have some absolutely brilliant clients and I’ve known them for years. »

“The customers did all this for me. One of them started the petition for me.

“I would do the same thing. She’s my wife, if she has to go to the hospital, I’ll be there.”

The driver reluctantly accepted the new tours to support his family and hopes sharing his story will prevent the same thing from happening to others.

He said: “I didn’t really want to go back to Evri, but it’s a job isn’t it.

“They could do it again. I have to share my story or they’ll do the same thing next week.”

Evri, for her part, claims to have been flexible with Keith “on several occasions” over the past year and a half, prompting them to entrust his tour to a “reliable courier.”

An Evri spokesperson said: “We will always support couriers who balance family life and work commitments and we have supported Mr Welsh by offering flexibility over an 18-month period.

“We deliver 99% of packages on time and the reliability of our couriers is essential to maintaining this level of service and building trust in the communities we serve.

“Our touring requirements evolve as service needs change and we have offered Mr Welsh a choice of touring in the area.

“We are really pleased that he has agreed to this and we welcome his continued service to us.”