Postbox boy

An autistic boy obsessed with postboxes has been inundated with letters from people for him to post in his own pillar box.

Gareth Scott, eight, of Stockport, Greater Manchester, loves postboxes, and sometimes hugs them in the street. The firm which supplies the Royal Mail, Romec, gave him a specially-adapted postbox earlier this month.

Gareth has since received hundreds of cards and letters to post in his box, which is smaller than official boxes.

Gareth's language is limited, but one of the words he can say is postbox.

His family requested a pillar box for him from Romec, which delivered one that is now found in his back garden, and has personalised collection times.

His mother, Denise, has said she is overwhelmed by the response to his story.
She said: "We've had hundreds of letters and they've all been posted. Gareth's so happy to have his own box. It's the first thing he does when he comes downstairs in the morning.

"A gentleman from Liverpool, Bill Lloyd, goes all over the world taking pictures of different sorts of pillar boxes and he sent about 50 pictures of different types for Gareth."

He has even had a letter from the 800-member Letter Box Study Group. Arthur Reader, from the group, lives on the Isle of Wight.

He said: "We have meetings twice a year, with displays of old postboxes. I have a large private collection of 178 post boxes at my museum. The young lad would be most welcome to come along. Sometimes a little spark is inside these children and it needs the right sort of stimulus."

Denise Scott said it would be nice if they could take him up on the offer.