Village puzzled at postal theft

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It is not likely to be high on the list of steal to order items, but the theft of a rural post box has left County Down villagers scratching their heads.

An empty space and screws mark the place where residents of Ardarragh used to post their letters.

Assembly member John McAlister said the theft was not a joke for residents of the townland, which has had no local Post Office for the last 30 years.

"It was used quite widely by the local population," he said.

Mr McAlister said that the post box may have been stolen for resale as an ornament.

"It could end up in someone's garden, somebody could quite innocently buy something like that in good faith, it's quite valuable ornamentally," he said.

Royal Mail said that they would replace the box and appealed for anyone with information about the theft, which happened last Tuesday, to contact police.

"Fortunately, a collection had been made from the letterbox that afternoon so there would have been very little, if any, items of mail in it when it was stolen," a spokesperson said.

"Any customer who may have used the letterbox from late afternoon on Tuesday is asked to contact our customer services team on: 08457 740 740 who will assist in any way possible."