Royal Mail to replace village postbox after thefts

A rural village is set to regain a postbox after months of having to travel two miles to send letters due to thieves.

Two boxes were stolen in Woolley in March, with Royal Mail set to replace the postbox on The Green next week. However, it has yet to give a timeline for replacing a second stolen box on Barnsley Road.

Jade Botterill, MP for Ossett and Denby Dale, had previously been told it would take 12-16 weeks for the boxes to be replaced.

"Rural residents deserve a postal service they can rely on, so the initial timeline set out by Royal Mail was totally unacceptable," the Labour MP said.

"This is a huge win for Woolley residents and shows what happens when our community stands together."

Woolley resident Richard Dixon previously said he had made multiple requests for the boxes to be replaced since reporting them missing on 8 March.

"This is a rural community with a lot of elderly people who rely heavily on the service," he said.

"It is a disgrace that people have been left without a postbox for so long."

He added: "People have had to travel two miles to Notton Post Office just to send letters.

"It is also a health and safety issue because it looks like an angle grinder has been used to remove them - all that's left are two stumps with sharp edges.

"The one on The Green is next to a children's play park and could cause someone to get a nasty cut."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.