Snails make meal of the mail (From Chard & Ilminster News)

Snails make meal of the mail

1:00pm Sunday 17th February 2013 in News

SLUGS and snails are slowly but surely gnawing their way through letters dropped into a post box in Forton.

Villager Peter Hill told the News that he passed the post box when it was being opened in late autumn.

“I saw about a dozen snails in there and the postman showed me some letters which had already been nibbled at the corners,’’ he said.

“I thought if you posted your letters on a weekend the snails might have made a meal of some of them by the Monday collection.’’ Mr Hill brought the matter up with Tatworth and Forton Parish Council but little headway was made with the Royal Mail.

Parish clerk Naomi Gilchrist put in a formal complaint to Royal Mail and she has now received assurances that the post box problem will be dealt with.

Royal Mail customer service adviser Brian Barclay said: “I have contacted the collections planning manager for that area and he has arranged to have the post box cleared of slugs and snails.

“However, all such cleaning work is carried out by a third party engineering sub-contractor. As a result, the manager cannot confirm an exact date as to when this work will be started or completed but this should be within four to six weeks.’’