Hayling Island post box given gold medal treatment amidst petition to save it

The post box in Havant Road has been closed since the summer but locals discovered that it had been given a fresh paint job over the weekend. The gold is thought to have been painted on the defunct post box as a tribute to Hayling Island’s very own Olympic gold medallist, Eilidh McIntyre.

The sailor won gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics before announcing her retirement earlier this year. In the wake of the London 2012 games, a number of post boxes were painted gold to honour local gold medallists such as Andy Murray in Dunblane, Scotland and Mo Farah in Isleworth, London. It appears the post box in Hayling Island has become a new unofficial golden post box to mark an incredible local sporting hero. It has yet to be determined who is responsible for the painting.

This is not the first time the post box has been the centre of attention for local residents. Many were unhappy when it was closed down due to the lack of alternative options in the area. Liberal Democrat Councillor for Hayling West, Paul Gray, has taken up the cause, highlighting that elderly people, and those with mobility issues, have little options for sending post with the now nearest post box nearly a mile away.

Cllr Gray said: “As for the post box now being gold, I can say, hand on heart, it was a surprise to me. It has long been a bone of contention on the island that our Olympic gold medallist didn't have a post box painted gold in her honour, and clearly somebody thought now was a good time to draw attention to that fact. The "golding" isn't part of our campaign, but we're not complaining if it means the Royal Mail starts taking residents more seriously and actually listens to the local community."

A petition has been set up by Cllr Gray to return the post box to service. He commented that so far he has been frustrated by the Royal Mail’s inflexibility and lack of appreciation to the circumstances faced by elderly and disabled customers in the Stoke Village area of Hayling Island.