FOUR new parcel post boxes have been installed in Newport as part of a south Wales-wide programme.

Royal Mail is introducing the boxes for the first time in the UK, with existing meter boxes - around 1,400 - being converted to accept parcels posted in the same way as letters.

The Newport parcel post boxes are in Cleppa Park, Factory Road, and on the Leeway and Maesglas industrial estates.

They include a wider aperture and a secure design, with the initiative following a successful trial in 2018.

Their introduction across the UK represents the first major change of use for the post box since it was introduced 160 years ago.

The launch of the parcel post boxes is also one of the biggest innovations in parcels since the launch of Parcel Post in 1883.

READ MORE:

The change means that small businesses and marketplace sellers can post pre-paid parcels through securely designed parcel post boxes, in the same way that they currently post a letter.

Customers will also be able to post some return parcels at any time, seven days a week.

Mark Street, Head of Campaigns at Royal Mail, said: “The introduction of the first parcel post-boxes in south Wales means that customers can now send parcels with pre-paid postage and their returns in the same way that they do letters.

“The new parcel post boxes provide added flexibility to online sellers who might be running a business in their spare time and not keeping regular office hours.”

Parcels must be pre-paid through Click and Drop, Royal Mail’s online labelling system and any returns made via parcel post-boxes must include a Royal Mail barcode.

More information on all locations of the parcel post boxes can be found at: https://www.royalmail.com/d8/parcel-post-boxes