Customers using a busy post office were left mystified after arriving to find its post box had vanished.

People using Wallingford Post Office have been puzzled by the decision by Post Office Counters to remove the post box.

They insist the wooden box - which was installed in front of the post office counter inside the Martin the Newsagent store, in St Martin's Street, eight years ago - was an important service.

And they claim its disappearance has left customers confused and inconvenienced. Customers must now queue to hand items to staff behind the post office counter, or walk to the remaining post box at the sorting office in the town's Market Place.

One customer, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "I have never heard of a post office without a post box - this must be a first.

"It is an abomination of a post office for a place of this size, anyway, and this has made it even worse. It is particularly bad for pensioners who have to brave a queue or walk to the sorting office." He said leaving letters on the counter left mail vulnerable to theft.

Paul Diggens, a spokesman for Post Office Counters, said: "The post box is non-standard and there have been cases where staff have had difficulty getting letters out of the box. It does not conform to our rules on normal street furniture and has had to be removed.

"We are talking to our colleagues at Royal Mail to see if a new one can be installed."

Story date: Monday 08 November

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