Postmen told not to deliver mail 'because cobbled street is too dangerous' (just don't tell the Hovis boy)

Cobblers: A postman is refusing to walk less than 20 yards along a cobbled street because it could be 'dangerous'


Residents were left furious yesterday after the Royal Mail refused to deliver mail to homes on a cobbled street - because of health and safety fears.

Householders in the 280-year-old lane have been told the uneven paving is too dangerous for post workers to walk on - particularly when it is wet or icy.

Problems began when the regular postman told homeowners it was 'unsafe' for him to deliver letters to Bilton Terrace in Bideford, Devon.


Tough work: The boy in the Hovis ad from the Eighties


It's all a far cry from the Hovis adverts of the Eighties where the bread boy had to push his bike up the steep cobbled streets every day. Ironically the ads were filmed in Shaftesbury in the neighbouring county of Dorset.

Bosses at Royal Mail have now backed the postman and all the post is being delivered to one home at the bottom of the road - Bideford's last cobbled street.

Resident Sally Bellamy, 53, was told by her regular postman that he could not cross the cobbles for 'health and safety reasons'.

She described the situation as 'ridiculous' and says she manages to cross the cobbles despite having arthritis in her ankles and other joints.

Sally said: 'I've been told it's my path that is dangerous, but the slates have been there for 280 years without a problem.

'Courier parcels get delivered and fruit and veg gets delivered. They don't have problems - I don't believe my postman is endangering his life.'

Sally - whose family ran a local post office when she was a child - added: 'We're in a conservation area here and we're not allowed to take the cobbled slates up.


Resident Sally Bellamy, 53, described the situation as 'ridiculous' and says she manages to cross the cobbles despite having arthritis
'Tarmac would make the terrace smoother, but it looks beautiful here. I don't think it is dangerous.'

Michael Dalton, a spokesman for the Royal Mail, say the uneven surface of the street can cause hazardous conditions in poor weather.

He said: 'The road is in a poor state of repair and when wet or icy it can become dangerous.

'There are occasions when we have not been able to make deliveries and alternative arrangements have been made.

'We are in contact with residents and continue to seek a solution with them.'


source: dailymail