A MAN was left outraged after Royal Mail ‘ignored his calls’ to remove a wasps’ nest from a nearby postbox.
Leslie Johnson, 64, reported the incident on Tuesday, July 19, after inspecting the postbox because he had noticed wasps flying in and out.
He contacted Royal Mail twice more and he said he was told the problem would be fixed within 24, and then 48 hours, but nothing has been sorted.
Mr Johnson, who is semi-retired, said: “People could get hurt, big time. I’m at my wits end, I’ve done my bit.
“They have a fantastic customer services team who are all very sympathetic, but somebody is not doing their job.
He has put up an A4 sign warning residents about the pests in Long Hey Lane, Pickup Bank.
Leslie has had experience with wasps’ nests before, having had one at his private land in Bromley Cross.
He reported that issue to Bolton Council and they sorted it straight away.
Leslie said: “He had a trigger gun, two puffs of smoke and he was done, it was a five minute job. That’s what makes this so frustrating.”
His neighbour Sue Heffernan, who has lived in Darwen for 30 years, said: “There’s nothing we can do about it, it needs to get cleared up, it’s dangerous.”
Cllr Julie Slater, who represents East Rural ward, said: “There is a lot of elderly people in that area that struggle to get around, so it is important that it gets sorted as soon as possible.”
Royal Mail said a pest control officer will be visiting the box today. A spokeswoman said: “We suspended collections from the postbox on Friday, on health and safety grounds, following the discovery of a wasps’ nest.
“We notified the pest control officer, who confirmed that they will be dealing with the problem as soon as possible
We apologise for the inconvenience and in the meantime we advise customers to use other postboxes nearby or they can drop mail off at any post office.”