Northern Ireland to get 280 new postboxes

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The Royal Mail is to install approximately 280 new postboxes across Northern Ireland.

The Royal Mail said the boxes will mainly be in rural areas, new housing developments and in high footfall areas that aren't currently served by a postbox.

The exact location of each box will be confirmed later this year.

The move is part of an initiative to boost public access to postboxes across the UK.

Some of the boxes are already in situ but all 280 will be installed by spring 2017.

'Security reasons'

A higher number of postboxes are being installed in Northern Ireland than in Great Britain.

The Royal Mail said this is because "the rural nature " of Northern Ireland "meant that the postbox density was lower than elsewhere".

"In urban areas, postboxes may have been previously removed due to security reasons," it added.

There are approximately 115,300 postboxes currently in service across the UK.

After installation of the first 700 new boxes, 98% of all households in the UK will be within half a mile of a postbox.