Paul Snelling has photographed more than 4,000 postboxes (Picture: SWNS)

Paul Snelling spends his spare time photographing post boxes, and he has a message for the haters.

Paul is on a mission to help snap every post box in Britain.

Yes, all 115,000 of them. Because why not?

The 61-year-old is vice chairman of the Letter Box Study Group (LBSG), a group which in the next two years hopes to complete its bizarre mission.


Paul, a retired postman, has personally photographed more than 4,000 of them, travelling around the country to do it.

The married father-of-three started his epic mission back in 1978, while he was a postal and telegraph officer in Sussex.



MORE: No one is safe: Even orangutans are cold-blooded murderers now

MORE: Here’s what the new ‘world’s biggest skyscraper’ is going to look like

Paul takes three shots of every post box (Picture: SWNS)

He said: ‘Most of the ones I’ve done are in the South East of England.

‘But I’ve done some in Yorkshire, Somerset, the Midlands. Where there’s a need, one goes.

‘If the sun shines I’ll go out for maybe four or five Sundays in a row. Then I might not go out for a few weeks because I have to deal with all the data.

‘If I’m on holiday I’ll do a handful. Occasionally I’ll go specially to clear up an area.’

It’s a varied hobby, apparently (Picture: SWNS)

When he sees a post box he will take three pictures – a location shot, a close-up and a picture of the collection plate.

So what, we hear you all asking, is Paul’s favourite type of post box?

He said: ‘I’ve got several favourites. I’m a big fan of the octagonal boxes, which were first introduced in 1866, so they’ve just celebrated their 150th birthday.

‘The post office at the time said no, hexagonal is the way forward. So an architect in London then designed hexagonal boxes, which were used for 13 years until they decided to go round.

One of Paul Snelling’s favourite postboxes in Hythe, Hampshire (Picture: SWNS)

‘I used to have a favourite post box but unfortunately it got hit by a lorry. It was a small box from 1856 near Billingshurst in West Sussex.

‘The driver knocked the whole lot over. It was very unfortunate because it was quite rare – it had a bit of historical context. For me, it was a bit of a loss really.’

One of Paul Snelling’s favourite postboxes in Rochester, Kent (Picture: SWNS)

He said his wife Rayner has been a trusty sidekick over the years, stating: ‘My wife does come with me. She is actually a member of the Letter Box Study Group herself.

‘She’s great moral support. A lot of the time it’s boring housing estates. If it’s interesting she’ll hop out and have a look.

‘But if I’m going out on a serious or fanatical trip, she prefers to do something else for the day.’

This one in Redhill is also a favourite (Picture: SWNS)

And he has a message for the haters.

Paul said: ‘My team at work used to make jokes but I just got my own back with whatever it was they were doing.

‘I always think “Never criticise somebody else’s hobby because yours will seem strange to them”.

One of Paul Snelling’s favourite postboxes in Wouldham, Kent. (Picture: SWNS)

‘Personally I don’t understand people who spend hours sitting in front of a TV watching football.



‘I’ve been to lots of places with my hobby. I’ve seen some stunning scenery, I’ve been to places people don’t normally go.

‘In the Yorkshire Dales I went to places where there was no one about.’