Letters overflowing as 'lost key' leaves postbox unemptied since before Christmas
Frustrated residents have been unable to send off any letters at their local postbox which hasn't been emptied for weeks.
Locals say the postbox, in Common Road, Wombourne, was last emptied before Christmas and that the key for the door has been lost, meaning postmen are unable to open it and clear the backlog of mail.
Letters and Christmas cards can be seen squished into the roof of the box in the Staffordshire village, with no room for it to take anymore mail.
One resident said: "The letters are literally falling out of the top. The postman says they have lost the key and cannot open the box. He also said that It had been reported at least five times, but nothing has been done. Surely they have master key for such occasions.
"Why didn't they seal the box up or put a notice on it?"
The frustrated local also said they had been unable to find a contact detail to speak to anyone at Royal Mail about the problem.
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for the problems experienced with this postbox, which will now be emptied as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, the temporary closure of the nearby Post Office which was located in the Co-op store on the junction of Common Road and Giggetty Lane has also been announced.
An open letter by Damien Haydock, Partner Account Manager at the Post Office, said the branch closed on New Year's Eve after the "resignation of our current partner" and "withdrawal of premises for Post Office use".
"Please accept my apologies for the late notification on this occasion," he said.
"I would like to assure you that we are working hard to keep any period of closure to a minimum and we are currently investigating the options available which will enable us to reinstate a Post Office service to the local community.
"In exploring this, it isimportant that any future service is sustainable for the person operating the service, and for Post Office Limited.
"We have interest from a potential applicant for Blakeley Post Office and discussions are at an early stage. We will provide a further update when we have a confirmed proposal to restore Post Office services to Blakeley."
