IT WAS the biggest scandal to hit the sleepy villages of Daddry Shield (population: 47) for many a year.

What had happened to the village post box attached to the old telephone pole outside farmer Neil Pattinson's cottage?

The box has been there for as long as anyone can remember.

But last week sometime it mysteriously vanished from its rightful place. Chief culprits seem to be the contractors employed by British Telecom to erect a new pole.

Someone said they had removed it - but no one saw it being put back. Instead it was found lying forlornly by the path.

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

Now they either have to drive or walk more than a mile to the villages of Westgate or St John's Chapel to post their mail.

One pensioner walked threequarters 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, are 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 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 the crack of dawn yesterday contractors working for the Royal Mail returned the old post box to the new telephone pole.

But they emphasised that this was only a temporary arrangement as the new pole is now too close to an adjoining stone wall to fasten it permanently.

Mr Pattison has a solution to prevent another postal crisis.

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

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

Royal Mail Northern external relations manager, Wendy Gess, told The Northern Echo: "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."