Ilkley has played a starring role in a 'red letter day' for Yorkshire's traditional post boxes.

The town's historic Penfold style hexagonal letter box in Middleton Avenue was the setting for the launch of a national campaign by English Heritage and the Royal Mail last Friday.

Timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the very first post box, the initiative aims to provide extra protection for the 100,000 or more older boxes scattered across the country.

The conservation effort will mean the letter boxes are painted at least once every three years and that they will be kept free of fly posting or graffiti.

The scheme's organisers are also promising to make quick repairs to boxes - but the Royal Mail has already ruled out replacing seriously damaged ones, like the Victorian box in Grove Road, Ilkley, which was recently demolished.

Historic Buildings Inspector with English Heritage, Trevor Mitchell, said: "We've agreed practical guidance which will be issued to all Royal Mail area managers and local authority conservation and highways staff on letter box conservation.

"Yorkshire has some of the nation's finest historic buildings, but it is also rich in so called 'street furniture', the everyday items like pillar boxes that become a cherished part of our environment. They deserve our added care and attention."

To mark the occasion, the Royal Mail has issued a special set of stamps featuring five historic boxes, including Ilkley's Penfold, the rarest post box in Yorkshire.

A grade II listed 'building' which dates back to around 1866, it was designed as a more attractive alternative to the first, more functional looking post boxes and is topped with an acorn design. Three years ago the box, which earns its common name from its designer, architect and surveyor J W Penfold, was thought to be beyond repair after it was hit by a car.

But thanks to local pressure the Royal Mail had it recast at a cost of more than £4,000.

English Heritage and the Royal Mail hope the From Pillar to Post campaign will reduce the need to list other old post boxes.

The Royal Mail's Area Manager for Yorkshire, Andy Lamb, said: "Letter boxes represent Britain's first nationwide communication system and they have held a special place in the hearts of British people for 150 years.

"We hope that the conservation policy will continue to protect and preserve these outstanding examples of the British way of life."

l It was the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope who inspired the first letter boxes, which made their debut appearance in Jersey on November 23, 1852.