Rural residents dismayed as Victorian post box still out of action

The door to the red box was left damaged during last year’s August Bank Holiday and meant residents of Copmere End, near Eccleshall, Staffordshire, have since had to walk around a mile to other hamlets to post their mail.

Peter Allsop, 80, of Mere Rise, Copmere End, has written an official complaint to the Royal Mail due to a lack of action.

Mr Allsop lost his wife Nina, 82, in March alongside his brother, Ray, 87, in May – both to coronavirus.

The former Eccleshall parish councillor told the Express & Star: “We need a postbox to put our mail in. The nearest ones are a mile away. I am very frustrated.

“It was August Bank Holiday last year that it got damaged. The door was broken. How it happened I don’t know.

“I have got to put it down to vandalism. Since the door was damaged, we have been unable to use it.”

His frustration was increased by the fact that his first letter to Royal Mail was not acknowledged.

He said he received a phone call to ask “what was in the letter”.

During the conversation, Mr Allsop asked a Royal Mail worker if it was “acceptable for a man, aged 80, with a walking stick, to walk more than 100 yards, when he is hardly able to walk, down a country road to post a letter?”.

“He had no answer,” said Mr Allsop.

While he is able to use the internet, Mr Allsop is concerned other elderly people may have lost their only form of communication as a result of the damaged post box, which is dated 1901.

He said the post box is especially needed at this time of year so people can mail Christmas cards.

Royal Mail has been approached for comment.