Letters lay in forgotten postbox for 23 years

Bosses at Birmingham New Street Station are investigating a first class mystery – how this dog-eared bundle of letters lay in a forgotten postbox for 23 years. The undelivered mail was discovered when the box – taped-up and taken out of service decades ago – was recently removed as part of renovation work at the station. Workers cannot understand how the letters, some dating back to 1989, escaped the notice of postmen. But Royal Mail will now try and reunite the lost post – including a charity cheque – with its rightful recipients.

It is believed the box was sealed following complaints passengers had caught their fingers in the narrow flap. It was then de-commissioned as stations beefed-up security. A board was placed over the mouth and ‘out of action’ sign slapped on the front, but vandals later removed the sign and seal. Sited next to the WH Smith store in New Street’s main assembly area, the postbox became a forgotten piece of station furniture.

 

One worker said: “We didn’t know it was there, to be honest. It was unbelievable to find the thing stuffed with old letters.” It was only when some of the dusty correspondence was opened that stunned staff realised how long the envelopes had lain unnoticed. The post includes around a dozen letters, the oldest dating back to 1989, two postcards to Australia and a charity cheque. Network Rail is currently searching for answers – but not the intended recipients of the missing mail. 

“With the greatest will in the world,” said a spokesman, “We’re not in the mail delivery business. For security reasons, there haven’t been mailboxes at stations for years, but we don’t know when postmen stopped emptying this one.” Royal Mail is equally baffled by the discovery and will now try to get the post to the rightful addresses. A spokesman stressed: “We would not seal the box with letters still in it. We believe customers continued to post letters, oblivious to the fact it was not being emptied.”

There are more photos here.