A former North Carolina postal worker has admitted hoarding thousands of pieces of mail at his home for a decade.

News outlets report Gary Wayne Collins of Forest City pleaded guilty Tuesday to failing to deliver mail along his rural route in Rutherford and Cleveland counties.

Court documents show a witness in 2014 reported seeing Collins place tubs of mail behind a dumpster. Agents found more than 1,500 pieces of mail, which Collins told them he’d only intended to store temporarily.

A month later, postal agents discovered more than 1,800 pieces of undelivered mail hidden in Collins’ home and vehicle. Those pieces dated as far back as 2000.

Collins admitted in court he’d kept undelivered mail at his home for a decade. He faces up to five years in prison when he’s sentenced.

Forest City is about 65 miles west of Charlotte.

(AP)