MP proposes low letterbox law to protect posties

An MP has called for a ban on low letterboxes to protect postal workers from the risk of injury.

Labour's Anneliese Midgley raised the issue in Parliament after workers told her about the risks around delivering mail to "low-level letterboxes" when she visited a delivery office in her constituency.

She said Royal Mail had recorded more than 18,000 back injuries in a year and more than 1,000 workers had fingers "partly or fully bitten off" by dogs in the past five years.

Proposing a bill, the Knowsley MP said she wanted the current advice on letterboxes being at least 27in (70cm) from the ground in all new-build residential and commercial properties to become a mandatory requirement.

She told the Commons that the government has committed to "raise standards and focus on delivery".

"I have got a perfect bill for them - it's the Letterbox Positioning Bill," she said.

She said she had visited postal workers in Huyton and was urged to "sort out those low-level letterboxes".

"They're worried that one of these days, one of them could get a life-changing injury," she said.

"I watched our posties working flat out, and it really hit home how hard they work, whatever the weather, whatever the conditions, and I asked 'what could I do to help":[]}