Residents have been scratching their heads about the mysterious sealing of the boxes but the Recorder can reveal the blunder is down to human error.
After a bungling postman lost the keys to a number of boxes in Seven Kings and Goodmayes, staff at Royal Mail were forced to take action.
Over a week ago, they were forced to break into the post boxes to remove the mail that was already inside before blocking them up.
A resident said she had received no explanation as to why they couldn’t post any letters or when they would be able to after approaching the post office in Seven Kings, High Road.
Heather Wright, who lives in Goodmayes, said: “I have tried to obtain a reason for this from the post office but they have not given me a response to my initial enquiry.
“I initially thought it was only the one in Felbrigge Road that was affected but after taking a walk today, I found two more along the High Road and Goodmayes Road all sealed in the same way.
“They were painted a month or two ago but I fear the post office will be removing them since no one is using them, because they have been sealed!”
Royal Mail spokesperson Sally Hopkins confirmed that there were no plans to permanently close the boxes.
She said: “We can confirm that a small number of post boxes in the Ilford area had to be temporarily sealed after the keys to those boxes went missing.
“The boxes were cleared of mail before they were sealed so no items were left inside.
“Royal Mail apologises to customers for any inconvenience this may have caused.
“We are working to replace the locks so we can reopen these boxes as soon as possible.”
In the meantime, customers can use other boxes in the area or drop of mail at any Post Office branch.
