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A Victorian post box that had been embedded in a stone wall for more than 120 years was ripped out overnight in a West Yorkshire hamlet, leaving local children unable to send their letters to Father Christmas.
The red cast-iron pillar box, bearing Queen Victoria’s VR royal cipher and recently given a fresh coat of paint, was stolen from Tunnel End overnight between November 29 and November 30.
The crime has sparked outrage among residents of the peaceful Pennine village, with many drawing comparisons between the culprit and Dr Seuss’s infamous Christmas thief, the Grinch.
Both West Yorkshire Police and Royal Mail have opened investigations into the disappearance.
Jodie Carter, a 37-year-old mother of three, vented at the theft.
She said: “I’m really angry about it. My children use that post box to post Christmas letters.
“They were going to post their letters to Santa from there. No-one heard anything.
“I think someone has taken it to sell on eBay as they go for quite a bit of money. It’s a real shame it’s been taken.”
Brian Hooper, 64, described the incident as peculiar – and lamented that youngsters in the village had lost their chance to send their Christmas post.
The red cast iron pillar box (pictured in summer 2025) was stolen from Tunnel End overnight between November 29 and November 30
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“It feels a bit like something the Grinch would do,” he remarked.
Chris Hughes, a 32-year-old engineer with a toddler son, called the perpetrators “real-life Scrooges” after his family’s plans to use the box for Santa correspondence were thwarted.
Residents believe the box was stolen the early hours, with retired publican Gary Earnshaw, 68, reporting that his CCTV captured a vehicle nearby at approximately 2am. However, the actual removal of the post box was not recorded on camera.
“I don’t know who’s taken it but I think it’s been stolen to order as it’s just cast iron so it’s not worth a lot of money,” Mr Earnshaw said.
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“You wouldn’t know it was there unless you’re a local. I think someone wants it as an ornament in their house or garden.”
Semi-retired financial advisor Stuart Barlow, 57, who reported the crime to police, noted that a recent theft of wall stones also occurred on a Sunday morning, suggesting the same gang could be responsible.
A retired postman from the village told the Daily Mail that while post box thefts are uncommon, they do occur, adding that VR boxes are particularly sought after by collectors.
Tom Lonsdale, a landscape architect developing a regeneration masterplan for the Marsden area, said the theft “damages everyone” and noted similar crimes involving historic coping stones, roofing flagstones and wrought iron features in the locality.
Residents have compared the culprit to Dr Seuss’s infamous Christmas thief, the Grinch
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“Stealing the cultural fingerprints of history deprives the whole of society and changes the very places we live,” Mr Lonsdale said.
A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We are aware of reports that a post box has unfortunately been stolen.
“We take the theft of Royal Mail property very seriously, and we will work closely and cooperate with law enforcement agencies to prevent the unlawful removal of post boxes.”
Tunnel End sits at one end of Britain’s longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel, constructed from 1795 on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
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