Thief steals box full of letters to lost loved ones — then returns it, funeral home says
A thief in the U.K. stole a post box where people left letters to their deceased relatives, a funeral home said. After realizing what he’d stolen, the apologetic thief tried to make amends.
Hughes Funeral Directors in Cannock have a “post box to heaven” where people can send letters, holiday cards or notes to their lost loved ones, the funeral home explained in a Facebook post. The post box is intended to help people grieve and process their loss.
“We already have two children who always write their (granddad) letters,” the directors said.
Someone stole the post box on Sunday, March 12, the funeral home said in a series of posts to local Facebook groups.
“We are devastated,” the funeral home wrote. “This (box) is full of letters and pictures both children and adults have wrote to their loved ones in heaven, this box brings comfort to many.”
Co-owner Kim Hughes told BBC that, “I’ve sat here and watched children deliver letters to their parents or grandparents; wives that lost their husbands, so it went rapidly from annoyance to getting it back.”
That’s what happened. A woman walking through a park found a black bag with a note and the post box inside, the funeral directors said in a March 13 post. She recognized the box and returned it to the funeral home.
A note on the top of the post box read, “There is £20 (about $24) inside for paint. I am so sorry.”
The remorseful thief returned the post box with an apology note, photos show.
“I would just like to say I’m so so sorry for taking the post box,” the note read. “I didn’t read ‘no letter’ or nothing saying (what) it was that does not make it right in anyway. I’m a scum bag for even taking it to start with.”
“I’m putting £20 in for you to repaint it,” the person wrote. “I have put it where you will have it brought back to you because I’m a fool who is so ashamed for what i have done.”
“I am really sorry honestly with all my heart,” the note said.
Hughes Funeral Directors responded to the thief’s note saying, “Thank you for doing the right thing in the end … we want you to know we forgive you!”
The post box was returned with its contents “undamaged,” Hughes Funeral Directors told McClatchy News. The box is once again accepting letters from anyone grieving.
Cannock is about 125 miles northwest of London.
This story was originally published March 16, 2023 at 11:28 AM with the headline "Thief steals box full of letters to lost loved ones — then returns it, funeral home says."
