ROYAL MAIL is urging the public to keep mail and post boxes under extra scrutiny as Saddleworth is the latest area under attack from thieves as part of a nationwide crime spree.
A box attached to the front wall of Robert Scott’s Mill on Manchester Road, Greenfield is the latest to be vandalized locally.
It follows incidents in Diggle and at Bleak Hey Nook, Delph, while two boxes in Mossley have suffered a similar fate.
And another in Shaw was removed after an attempted theft made it unsafe for public use, and it will be reinstated in a more suitable location nearby.
At Greenfield, only the front of the box was ripped open and post taken before Mail workers extracted the rest of the metal to leave a hole in the wall.
But in some cases, the entire post box has been removed, including at Bleak Hey Nook just off the main A62 Oldham-Huddersfield, where the box has since been replaced.
Local sub-postmaster Sukhi Singh said: “People living in the area were deeply upset by the theft of the box.
“These boxes are often the only links for people to use to send letters. It really is a shame.”
Oldham and Saddleworth Parish councillor, Nicola Kirkham, who lives in the tiny hamlet, said: “It is a sad state of affairs in this day and age when even postboxes aren’t safe.”
And Cllr Lesley Brown added said: “It’s a great sadness to see more of our national heritage disappearing because of fashion or profit.
“There is nothing more satisfying than receiving a hand-written letter or card delivered by a postie.”
A Royal Mail spokeswoman said: “We can confirm several postboxes were stolen recently in the OL3 postcode area of Oldham. We apologise for the inconvenience.
“The box at Bleak Hey Nook, Oldham, was replaced this week and we will be replacing the stolen box at Diggle Station, at Greenfield and one in Mossley as soon as possible.
“In the meantime, if customers are concerned about any mail posted, they should contact Royal Mail Customer Services on 03457 740740.
She continued: “Royal Mail has some 115,000 post boxes around the country and thankfully thefts of postboxes are relatively rare.
“We treat all theft of mail and of postboxes extremely seriously and if anyone has any information about these thefts, they should contact the police immediately.”
The Diggle box will not be replaced in its original position on a telegraph pole but talks between Royal Mail and Saddleworth Parish Council are taking place to find an alternative site.
John Arden, Royal Mail Collections Lead Quality Manager, added: “Every effort is being made to recover any stolen mail, and items wherever possible will be forwarded to addressees or returned to senders.”
In a bid to reduce the attacks throughout the country, Royal Mail is introducing possible electronic tagging of some sites.
More than 100 traditional red post boxes are stolen every year, particularly in villages and rural areas.
In one spree last year four boxes were taken from a handful of Norfolk villages in the space of several days.
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