Nottinghamshire girl honoured by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for 'Letters to Heaven' memorial postbox

A nine-year-old girl from Nottinghamshire has been given a special award from the Prime Minister after creating a 'Letters to Heaven' postbox for people who have lost loved ones.

Matilda Handy was presented with a Points of Light award at an International Women's Day event in Downing Street after creating the scheme.

It allows people at Gedling Crematorium to send letters to loved ones who have passed away and the project was so popular it's being rolled out nationwide.

Now the youngster has been honoured by PM Rishi Sunak for her efforts.

She said: "We just thought when the idea came that people would walk past and go ah that's nice.

"We didn't actually realise it would help this many people and go this far and it's going to be across the UK, England, Scotland and Wales."

The box was unveiled at the crematorium over Christmas and has already received nearly 100 'Letters to Heaven'.

But Matilda and her mum want the post box to continue so people can send letters during anniversaries and holidays throughout the year.

Matilda said it helped her grieve and speak to her grandparents in a way she thought she couldn't.

"It was very nice because I'm very upset and it's just a very nice way to express my feelings and send a letter to them and to say how much I love them.

Site manager Giulia McDonough said: "Like all Westerleigh Group's sites, it's our aim to have a very positive presence within our local communities.

"I am delighted that the Letters to Heaven post box seems to have captured the imagination - and interest - of many people.

"We put a post about it on our Facebook page on 12 December, showing an image of the post box in situ, and within just a couple of days we had more than 16,000 people viewing the message and nearly 1,000 liking it."

Now 36 other postboxes are being set up in cemeteries UK-wide.