Thieves steal hamlet postbox (From Gazette Series)

Thieves steal hamlet postbox

RESIDENTS of a remote hamlet off the A46 could be without their postbox for several weeks after thieves stole the existing one.

The box, at the Windy Corner crossroads in Bagpath, was removed some time between midday on Saturday, May 21 and 9am the following day. Bolt cutters were used to take the box off its mounting.

Bagpath resident John Giddings reported the theft but found both the police and the Royal Mail to be slow on giving assistance.

"We reported it to the police on Sunday morning," he said, "But they just laughed - they were not at all interested.

"They told us to call the post office but we couldn't get through until Monday, when they said they would look into it.

"They phoned us back and told us that it had definitely been stolen." Mr Giddings added that some residents would be lost without the postbox. "It is the only postbox we can use," he said, "We have got nowhere else here that we can post our letters."

The nearest alternative postboxes are at Kingscote or Ozleworth.

A Royal Mail spokesman explained that they would replace the box as quickly as they could but had to submit a planning application to do so.

In the meantime she said that residents could either use other postboxes or give their mail directly to the postman making deliveries.

A collection was made from the box late on Saturday morning so it is thought that only a small amount of mail would have been in the box at the time of the theft.

However, anyone with concerns that they may have had mail in the box at the time of the theft can call the Royal Mail customer service line on 08457 740740.