Mourners find comfort in graveside postbox

A former Royal Mail postbox has been transformed for the project

A former Royal Mail postbox has been installed in a cemetery in Saltash to help bring comfort to grieving families and friends.

The box called Letters to Heaven is available for people to put letters, messages or poems inside to help them come to terms with their loss.

Saltash Town Council, which owns Churchtown Cemetery, will empty the postbox and guarantees it will not read any of the private and confidential material.

It will then shred the contents and add it to the council's compost.

The Mayor of Saltash Richard Bickford said it followed a letter from a town resident

The Mayor of Saltash Richard Bickford said they had a letter from a town resident about the idea.

He said: "It's not new, we're not claiming that we invented the notion but we wanted to give an opportunity for those that have lost a relative or someone dear to them, to put down in writing what their feelings are, just express themselves, and if it helps one person then we will be happy we've done something good. "

He said they had received a "phenomenal" response from people on social media about the idea, after it was posted on the council's Facebook Page.

Liz Jones, who's mother is buried in Churchtown Cemetery, said her grandchildren had posted letters to their great grandmother in the Letters to Heaven box.

She said: "They were really excited to be able to do it. They really felt that great grandmother would get those letters. I think it's going to be a regular occurrence because they're already composing the next letter."

As regards the letters being shredded and added to the council's compost, Mrs Jones said she did not know how else they could deal with it.

"The children aren't expecting the letters back," she said.