EVERYDAY tens of thousands of letters fall onto the door mats of every household in the country.

But rarely, if ever, as we stroll down stairs to pick up a card from our aunt in Australia, or shuffle to the postbox to send little Jimmy's birthday present, do we spare a thought for the postie.

They are out come rain or shine, snow or gales, making sure that our shopping orders or greetings from afar arrive without delay.

Reporter MATTY SUTTON discovered what a day in the life of a Royal Mail postman was like.

MY WALK is around 10 miles," explains Drumchapel postie David Carr as we set off in the van from the mail office.

In the back, his heavily laden trolley is brimming with parcels and cards ripe for delivery to the residents on 'Walk 19,' his regular beat.

I give a small sigh as I look out the window on to a wet weekday morning. The rain splatters on the pavement on Garscadden Road, bouncing off David's bright red jacket as he explains the worst thing about the job.

Unsurprisingly, it's the weather. But once we're out, hoods u p, the walk warms us up.

It's not long before the curtains are itching and the dogs are barking as we stroll through the streets unloading the mail cart.

At most doors we gets a smile or a nod, and one little boy, who waves from the door, rushes into a backroom until he hears the letters fall and dashes out to collect them.

True to the films, posties have a long-running feud with canine critters, and David, 32, was bitten by a stray last year.

On the way out the office we're warned to take care, and David shows me his 'dog peg' - a red plastic clip used for putting letters through the letterbox if you suspect there's an angry pooch on the other side.

As we pass through the side lane where he was bitten David tells how the dog came from nowhere and broke the skin as it bit his leg.

Although his story didn't end in disaster, he knows many posties who were badly injured.

Between April 2012 and April 2013 a total of 45 postmen and women were attacked by dogs in Glasgow with the UK figure hitting 2400 for the same period.

But David's experience hasn't put him off dogs and he stops to stroke one pet as his owner inquires if he has any letters today.

Another stereotype that holds true is that postmen are always asked for directions.

"People ask me directions every day," says dad-of-one David, who has been a postie for 12 years.

"Just yesterday a young guy asked me where Notre Dame High School is.

"The poor guy had got a train out here to meet his girlfriend and I had to tell him Notre Dame's miles away."

Most people know the postie and trust him as he trundles along familiar territory, pausing to knock on doors if a package is too big to fit through the letterbox.

"I think most people talk to their postman if they see them, if people live on their own it can be the only contact they get."

David giggles as he tells me about some of the weird and wonderful parcels he has delivered over the years.

Noisy children's toys playing incessant tunes inside their boxes can drive posties mad and are a point of much hilarity back at the office.

As are the ones that make buzzing and vibration noises as they are transported round the streets.

I'm glad to rest my weary legs as we get back to the start of the loop before David heads round again in his van with the bigger parcels.

The rain is heavier now but David, in his black flat cap, doesn't seem to notice.

He's got a job to do. Only once in his 12 years pacing the streets has he been forced to turn back because of the weather.

Even then he got as far as he could battling gale-force winds before his manager insisted he postpone until the next day.

If I can say one thing for postie's, they're a hardy bunch.