Stamp of disapproval for postie’s yarn bomb blow

Royal Mail bosses have apologised for any hurt caused by a postman removing a yarn bomb decorative knitting from a postbox and throwing it on the ground.

Ross-on-Wye’s ‘guerilla knitters’ are well known for their decorative festive and colourful displays in the town.

And they were out in force decorating post boxes and signs in the town centre for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, including a replica of the historic Market Hall.

But one woman was furious when she said she saw a postman rip the Market Hall yarn bomb off a postbox and leave it “destroyed” on the floor.

Asked to comment, a Royal Mail spokesperson said: “A customer recently knitted a charming decorative ‘topper’ for one of our postboxes in Ross-on-Wye, in the shape of the local market hall.

“This topper sadly had to be removed because it had expanded in the rain, and so was preventing postmen and women from opening the box.”

They said it was catching in the postbox door and needed force to free the lock.

“We are very sorry that the topper was then left on the ground next to the postbox, as that did not do justice to the creativity and skill that had gone into making it.

“We appreciate the time and effort that customers put into creating toppers and are always pleased to see them.

“When they are installed without our consent, we are happy to leave them in place, so long as they do not impede the collection or delivery of mail, as happened on this occasion.

“We have spoken to the customer who designed this topper and explained how appreciative we are of her efforts and will be working with her to avoid any similar misunderstandings in the future.”

Yarn bombing is thought to have started in the US some 17 years ago as a creative way to knitters to use leftover wool.

It is believed the start of the movement can be attributed to a lady called Magda Sayeg from Houston, who says she first got the idea in 2005 when she covered the door handle of her boutique with a custom-made cozy – and since then, it has spread worldwide reaching all corners of the globe including “Ross Vegas”.