Kettering Road Estate and (inset) the latest mailbag found dumped

A mailbag full of letters for E17 was found in a communal bin

By James Cracknell

A full mailbag of post addressed to E17 households was found dumped on an Enfield estate, according to one of its residents.

Mark Bellas, who lives on the Kettering Road Estate, told Echo sister site Enfield Dispatch that five discarded mailbags full of undelivered letters have been found on the estate since the start of December.

The estate’s caretakers found them in communal bins and, despite complaints to Royal Mail, no action has been taken and three bags are understood to have been incinerated.

The fourth was handed back to a postman and the most recent dumped bag was salvaged by Mark and contains addresses for the Walthamstow (E17) postcode area.

Mark said: “I made a complaint to Royal Mail and they have not bothered to respond. Some of the post is from the NHS and says ‘private and confidential’.

“Two caretakers from the estate have reported it to Royal Mail as well but were told there was ‘nothing they could do’.”

Postal workers belonging to the Communication Workers Union have been taking industrial action in recent weeks, walking out before Christmas in a dispute over pay, which has lead to long delays in deliveries and backlogs going into the new year.

Regardless of the strikes, Mark said: “You can’t just throw away sacks of mail.”

Royal Mail did not respond to a request for comment.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.