Blackpool: 'Letters To Heaven' postbox launched at Carleton Crematorium along with suicide bereavement 'talking' bench

Jon Nichol, a builder from Anchorsholme, painted the postbox by hand, and installed it after reading about a similar memorial in Nottinghamshire.

Jon, who lost his son, Luke, to suicide in May 2019, said: “This is about everyone within our community that has suffered the heartbreak of losing a loved one. We’ve all sat there wanting to tell them how much we love, cherish, and miss them so so much. What better way to express our feelings than to put pen to paper and stop by our special post box. If this helps one person like it did me then it’s worth it weight in gold.”

How does a Letters To Heaven postbox work?

Grieving families can write letters to dearly missed loved ones, and post them at the secure white postbox.

Staff at Carlton Crematorium will empty the post box and store the letters safely.

The area will be guarded by CCTV.

Where is the Letters To Heaven postbox?

The white mailbox is located near the main entrance to Carleton Crematorium, on Stocks Lane.

What is the ‘listening bench’?

A ‘listening bench’ was also donated by Doherty's Destiny – a suicide bereavement charity in Cleveleys.

Aimee King said: "We took the idea from the Ricky Gervais series Afterlife, which is centred around a bench. We work with the idea that it’s okay to not be okay and you need to have conversations. Each bench has the contact number for the Samaritans so they can reach out for help 24/7, perhaps in their darkest moments.”