The General Post Office may change its policy on late night access to its facilities. Currently people can access the post box area 24 hours a day.

A survey was sent to all 3,400 box owners recently, asking for views on proposed changes. The accompanying letter said unpleasant incidents had occurred in the post box area and staff are now considering restricting late night access.

Post Master General George Outerbridge told that when he took over the position in 2002, several post box holders came to him and said that people were using the area after hours to sleep or for various illegal activities.

Mr. Outerbridge researched the complaints and discovered the problem had going on for years.

At one point the Police carried out routine checks, but this failed to stop vagrants and others from using the area.

?The main concern is the safety of the box owners,? Mr. Outerbridge said. ?If illegal activities are happening during the night, I feel I have a responsibility to ensure that the owners are safe.?

Mr. Outerbridge said one option is to close the area between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Another option is the implementation of a swipe card system for after hours access, which would help ensure only box owners had access to the area.

?I wanted to find out the opinions of the people who use the post boxes before any decisions were made,? Mr. Outerbridge said.

The surveys must be completed and returned to the General Post Office no later than Saturday. The General Post Office will make a decision in the coming months once the accumulated data has been processed.