Fears proposed postbox spot puts elderly in danger

Campaigners say heavy traffic and parked cars near where the postbox will be installed will put people in danger

Moving a town's postbox next to a livestock auction will put elderly residents in danger, campaigners say.

Royal Mail sealed up the postbox in Broughton-in-Furness, in Cumbria, when the post office it was attached to closed, but now plans to install a new one near the mart.

Jackie Lancaster, one of a number of residents who have complained about the decision, said traffic attending the twice-weekly auction would put elderly residents in harm's way.

Royal Mail said it understood residents' concerns but it needed to balance a number of "practical factors", including safety, when deciding where to site a postbox.

After the closure of the post office in June, residents launched plans to set up a community-run post office from inside a new tourist information centre.

They sent a signed petition to Royal Mail calling for the pedestal-type postbox to be placed at the centre but it failed to change the company's mind.

"The Royal Mail are proposing putting the postbox outside the auction mart, which is not visible to residents and not safe on an auction day because waggons and trucks park up on the pavement," Ms Lancaster said.

"It just gets really busy around there, so it's dangerous for anybody wanting to post a letter."

Campaigners want the postbox installed outside a new tourist information centre

Ms Lancaster said the post office was a vital service for the rural community, which contained many older people who sent a lot of letters.

She claimed Royal Mail had refused to install the postbox outside the centre because there was insufficient parking.

"There's over 50 parking spaces there and it's easily accessible for all residents," she said.

"The crazy thing is, they're going to be picking up the parcels from the new location of the post office, which they haven't got an issue with."

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "We understand the concerns raised about the location of the replacement postbox in Broughton-in-Furness.

"When deciding where to site a postbox we have to balance a range of practical factors, including safe accessibility for customers and our postmen and women, the availability of suitable public land, and the presence of underground utilities."