Village knitters gutted as Royal Mail changes bring end to creative postbox toppers

The high-tech replacement boxes will have solar panels on the top to power a digitally-activated drawer, allowing customers to deposit small parcels.

As a result, knitters will no longer be able to cover the top of the postbox with their creations, as it will block the panels.

Around 3,500 postboxes around the UK are being modified, with Royal Mail calling the change its “biggest redesign in its 175-year history”.

One knitting group in Titchfield, Hampshire – known as the ‘Yarnbombers’ – have expressed their disappointment at the change, with founder Suzy Jackson saying she was “very sad” to see a “much-loved feature of the village” removed.

“One of the problems is that we are really sad to lose our tops that we have been decorating since before Covid. Everyone in the village goes by it because it is in the centre of the village, and the kids love it.”

Ms Jackson was confused at the need for a change, saying the postbox was opposite the post office and that people only had to walk “two feet” to send parcels from the shop instead.

Over 250 local residents have signed a protest against the change in the Hampshire village.

An anonymous knitter from another village said the changes have upset many of the locals, with the designs working to “cheer them up on a regular basis”.

“Indeed, the main reason I have invested so much of my time in creating them is simply to make people smile, in what sometimes seems a bit of a gloomy world.”

Although the postbox toppers began as far back as 2012, the creative knitting really gained momentum around 2022 during the Covid-19 pandemic, as many picked up new skills during lockdown.

However, the recent changes to the red pillarboxes come as Royal Mail struggles in the face of competition from other delivery companies.

In response to the pushback, a spokesman for Royal Mail said they appreciated the “passion and care” which went into the toppers, adding there would still be many unaltered postboxes.

“With 115,000 postboxes across the UK, there are plenty that remain unaltered – and that will remain the case in the future.”