Missing: Iconic post boxes lost in action

The Pleck and Bentley areas of Walsall were the worst affected, with more than a fifth of their post boxes being closed.

Other areas badly hit include central Wolverhampton, where nearly one in six pillar boxes have been removed over the last five years, with Bewdley and Stafford also suffering significant reductions.

The WS postal district now has a total of 492 post boxes, down from 519 five years ago. A total of 17 boxes have been closed in Walsall borough itself, with a further three each being lost in Cannock, Rugeley and Lichfield, and one in the WS6 postcode area which covers Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay.

Five years ago, the WV1 postcode area which covers central Wolverhampton had 33 post boxes, but five of these have now gone.

The rest of the WV postal area, which also takes in Bridgnorth, Albrighton, Wombourne and Coseley, has lost a net total of 10 post boxes over the last five years, with four closures in the WV10 area which includes Low Hill, Bushbury, and Featherstone, and three in Bridgnorth.

Of the seven post boxes which have been lost across Sandwell, four of them have been in the B69 postcode area which covers Oldbury and Tividale. In West Bromwich there has been a net loss of three boxes, with four going from the B70 postcode area but one being gained in neighbouring B71.

In the DY postal region, which mainly covers Dudley and north Worcestershire, Bewdley was the area most affected, having lost seven post boxes since 2008. Kidderminster and Tipton lost two each. Halesowen.

A total of 15 pillar boxes have been lost across Stafford borough, with a further one being removed from neighbouring Penkridge. Worst affected is the ST21 area, covering Eccleshall and Rodbaston, where the number has fallen from 37 in 2008 to 33 today. Councillor Dennis Anson, who represents Pleck ward on Walsall Council, said he was dismayed by the figures.

"I would imagine that this is down to costs, but the price of stamps has not been coming down," he said. Wolverhampton MP and former postal minister Pat McFadden said it was disappointing that there were not so many post boxes as there used to be, but said it probably reflected the fact that people used more emails these days.

"Nobody wants to have to walk a long distance to a post box, it is important that these are conveniently located for people, but it may reflect the fact that we post fewer letters than we used to."

Val Bodden of Royal Mail said: "The number of postboxes in the UK – in both rural and urban areas – has remained stable for the past decade.

"We are proud that with our extensive network of over 115,000 post boxes, the UK has the highest level of post box provision per square kilometre of any western European nation.

Robert Hammond of the watchdog body Consumer Futures, called for a transparent and robust consultative process for post box changes that ensures people knew when a post box was going to be removed or relocated, and also gave them the opportunity to make a case for reversing the decision.

A post box in Vicarage Road, Amblecote, near Stourbridge, was removed by Royal Mail two years ago after being hit by a spate of thefts. Two of the boxes, which had been mounted on telegraph poles, had been stolen, and Royal Mail said a decision had been made to remove due to the number of thefts and the number of other boxes in the Stourbridge area.

After a concerted campaign by residents, backed by Councillors Mrs Liz Walker and Mrs Pat Martin, the box was reinstated earlier this year. But Councillor Walker said it was hard work getting it reinstated. "They're always quick to take them out, but they don't put many back," she said."