MP proposes low letterbox law to protect posties

Midgley's bill would make it mandatory for letterboxes to be placed higher on doors

An MP has called for a ban on low letterboxes to protect postal workers from the risk of injury.

Labour's Anneliese Midgley raised the issue in Parliament after workers told her about the risks around delivering mail to "low-level letterboxes" when she visited a delivery office in her constituency.

She said Royal Mail had recorded more than 18,000 back injuries in a year and more than 1,000 workers had fingers "partly or fully bitten off" by dogs in the past five years.

Proposing a bill, the Knowsley MP said she wanted the current advice on letterboxes being at least 27in (70cm) from the ground in all new-build residential and commercial properties to become a mandatory requirement.

She told the Commons that the government has committed to "raise standards and focus on delivery".

"I have got a perfect bill for them - it's the Letterbox Positioning Bill," she said.

She said she had visited postal workers in Huyton and was urged to "sort out those low-level letterboxes".

"They're worried that one of these days, one of them could get a life-changing injury," she said.

"I watched our posties working flat out, and it really hit home how hard they work, whatever the weather, whatever the conditions, and I asked 'what could I do to help?'"

Midgley said she wanted MPs to "give this bill the stamp of approval"

Speaking as she proposed the bill under the 10-minute rule, which allows backbenchers to make a short speech to propose new legislation, Midgley said one worker in Lancaster had lost the tip of a finger when it was bitten off by a dog.

She told MPs and a number of postal workers who were in the chamber to hear her speech that political campaigners had also suffered injuries while leafleting.

Midgley said her "heart sank" when she was faced with a low letterbox while campaigning.

"The only thing lower than the letterbox is the mood of anyone who has to use one," she said.

Deputy Speaker Nusrat Ghani said that as a "frequent leafleteer in Sussex Weald, I am particularly invested in this piece of legislation".

Ireland, Portugal and Belgium have regulations around the placing of letterboxes

At present, there are no planning regulations around the placing of letterboxes in doors and walls.

The British Standards Agency previously agreed they should not be installed close to the ground, but that has never been written into building standards law.

Midgley's bill would make the standard height mandatory for all new residential and commercial buildings.

She said several other countries had already adopted such measures.

In Ireland, the law was changed in 2000 to require all letterboxes to be at least 30in (76cm) above ground level, while Portugal and Belgium have similar height regulations.

She added that she wanted MPs to "give this bill the stamp of approval and get it signed, sealed and delivered".

Her bill will be added to private members' bills that could be debated on 11 July.