IT was the biggest scandal to hit the sleepy village of Daddry Shield (population 47) for many a year. What had happened to the village post box attached to the telephone pole outside farmer Neil Pattinson's cottage?

The box had been in the village, in Weardale, County Durham, for as long as anyone could remember.

But some time last week, it went missing.

The culprits seemed to be the contractors employed by British Telecom to replace the pole.

Someone said they had removed the box, but no one saw it being put back. Eventually, it was found lying abandoned by the path.

Mr Pattinson said: "The whole affair has been a comedy of errors.

"It seems laughable, but there is a serious side to it. A lot of the residents here in Daddry are elderly and the post box is a vital lifeline for them."

They faced a drive or a walk of more than a mile to the villages of Westgate or St John's Chapel to post their mail.

One pensioner walked three-quarters of a mile to post a letter, only to find there was no box.

Even Royal Mail van drivers, who call twice daily to empty the box, were baffled by its disappearance.

One of them said he was going to make inquiries at head office in Bishop Auckland.

Villagers said they were at a loss.

Or, at least they were until The Northern Echo brought the matter to the Royal Mail's attention.

Perhaps mindful of chief executive Adam Crozier's intention to "sort out" the operational performance of Royal Mail, which has been criticised following a report that more than 14 million letters are mis-delivered every year, officials delivered a first-class response.

At dawn yesterday, contractors working for the Royal Mail put the post box on the new pole.

But they said it was only a temporary arrangement because the pole was too close to a stone wall to fasten it permanently.

Mr Pattison has a solution to prevent another postal crisis.

He said: "I have offered to cement it into the stone wall next to the pole, but I have had no reply so far."

Some villagers are also wondering what happened to a small quantity of mail that was put in the box before it was put back.

Royal Mail spokeswoman Wendy Gess said: "The post box was detached by contractors working for BT from a pole which was being replaced.

"As the new pole was larger than the old one, the post box could not be re-attached to it at the time, so the Royal Mail took the box away for security reasons."