Postboxes sealed in Docklands after set of keys lost by Royal Mail

By Tom Derbyshire on February 15, 2008 1:11 PM |

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POSTBOXES in Docklands have been sealed shut for more than a week – because the red-faced Royal Mail lost a set of keys.

Steel shutters were put across the slots of 10 boxes on the Isle of Dogs after the postal service misplaced the keys used to open them to collect mail.

Bemused residents were given no explanation for the sudden closures. Many claim the postboxes have been closed for a month, but Royal Mail says they have only been shut for just over a week.

The steel gags have been placed on boxes at Cascade Tower, the Quarterdeck, Dock Gate,
Westferry Road, Manchester Road, Castalia Square, Narrow Street, Spert Street, Bate Street and Crossharbour.

Cascade Tower resident Richard Sandmand said: “We weren’t given any reason for the closure whatsoever.

“No one seemed to know what was going on. I’m a regular user, and I’ve been walking up to the postbox near the Canary Wharf Jubilee line station, which is a fair distance.

“It’s a mad situation. Maybe they should get a locksmith in.”

A spokesman for Royal Mail said the shutters had been screwed on as a security measure, even though the company did have a spare set of keys on hand.

He added that the postboxes would have been emptied before they were sealed, and that there were several alternative postboxes on the Isle of Dogs available to residents.

The national mail company, which operates 115,000 boxes across the country, pointed letter-writing Islanders to alternative slots in Chapel House Street, Pier Road, Manchester Road and Westferry Road.

A statement from the company this week said: “Royal Mail apologises to customers for any inconvenience caused.

“The boxes have been sealed for security reasons and we will be replacing the locks on these boxes by the end of this week.”

Story written by John Hill
john.hill@wharf.co.uk