It is hardly ideal for those still with last-minute Christmas cards to send...
A Norfolk village has been left puzzled by a First Class mystery after its post boxes kept disappearing.
People living in Pentney, near King's Lynn, say three of the familiar red fixtures have been removed from their mountings in recent weeks.
The first was a rare King Edward VII box, which was believed to have been stolen from Low Road on October 30.
Weeks later, a Queen Elizabeth II one disappeared from the village green in front of the church.
And on Tuesday, villagers discovered another had been taken from Common Road, while copycat crimes appeared to have taken place in at least two other nearby villages.
One local, who would give his name only as John, said he suspected the village had fallen victim to thieves from the shadowy underworld of salvage crime.
He said a King Edward could fetch £1,400 on online auction sites, while an Elizabeth II would change hands for upwards of £500.
"There should be legislation to stop members of the public selling post boxes because it's architectural theft," he said.
"You've got the theft of the box, the theft of the mail and you've also got architectural theft, which changes the architecture of the village. It was part of the character of the village."
The cast iron Edward VII, with its ornate crest, has been replaced by a sleek modern box which has yet to be commissioned and remains covered in bin bag-like black polythene.
"There were people seen taking these boxes," John went on. "But people just ignored them because they thought they were workmen.
"If you see anyone working on a post box, you should call the police."
Sarah Allen lives near the spot where the King Edward VII stood and used it regularly.
"You had to fold things up to put them in it, but it was a landmark," she said. "Birds used to nest in it. You used to get robins in it. "
Mervyn, the village postman, would attach warning signs to the box until the chicks had fledged. It remains to be seen whether robins will take to its replacement.
"You expect it to be there and you miss it when it isn't," said her friend Diane.
Half a mile or so away, just a cut post remains where the box stood on the postage stamp-sized village green overlooked by its Saxon church.
"They'd have cut through that in minutes with a hacksaw," said John. "Look, you can see the marks the blade left.
"In Saxon times, the penalty for interfering with a messenger was you'd be flayed."
Whether the boxes have been flogged online remains to be seen. But whoever has been taking them shows no sign of stopping.
"Another one went yesterday," another man said. "It was up on the Common Road, near Bilney Hall, the big old place on the right. And I heard there were half a dozen more."
Norfolk police said: "We are investigating the thefts of four Royal Mail post boxes in west Norfolk this week. They have been taken from West Acre, Great Massingham and two from Pentney.
"They are believed to have been stolen overnight on Monday, December 18 and Tuesday, December 19.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact the west Norfolk Local Policing Team quoting CAD NC-19122023-201.
Villagers are still able to post their Christmas cards, as one box remains on Abbey Road - for now.
Box thefts were reported across the country, including Suffolk, in 2021. Police called it "a worrying trend" as post boxes disappeared as far afield as Staffordshire and Gloucestershire.
There have been a number of other incidents across the region - mainly in rural areas - in previous years.
Royal Mail has been approached for comment.
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