A Northern Ireland council are set to install postboxes which will allow loved ones to send 'letters to heaven'.
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council agreed to the idea after Deputy Mayor Cllr Leah Smyth was inspired by nine-year-old Matilda Handy from Nottingham who came up with the idea following the death of her grandmother.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Cllr Smyth said that when she read about Matilda's idea, she immediately thought of her own children who have recently gone through a bereavement.
Read more: Community raw with grief after death of boy in crash
"I have two young kids at home, my youngest is seven and both of their great grandparents have died within the space of a few years," she said.
"I know personally how she has struggled to come to terms with her grief and thought this was a fantastic idea which would really help.
"I put a post on my Facebook to see if there were any other parents out there who maybe had children who were struggling to process their grief. I asked if they thought it would be a great idea to install them here and I had hundreds of people get in touch to share their stories and how they thought these postboxes would help."
Cllr Smyth brought the idea to her party council team and her UUP colleagues Cllr Norrie Ramsay and Cllr Robert Foster brought the idea to the Operations Committee.
"Cllr Ramsay is the vice chair of the committee and invited me to address the committee on how the postboxes would operate.
"The idea is that we will have a postbox in each of our cemeteries with a plaque explaining that the postboxes are managed by the cemetery team and don't require postage stamps.
"Once the boxes are full we will then take their contents to be recycled at our recycling centres."
Since the proposal was passed at the committee, the Deputy Mayor said she has been inundated with messages from councillors in other areas inquiring about the idea and she has invited them to visit the cemeteries with her when they are installed to see how they operate.
"Hopefully other council areas get on board because these postboxes could bring comfort to many kids and adults alike," she added.
Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Alderman Stephen Ross said that he is delighted that Council are supporting the initiative.
"The loss of a loved one is hard for everyone but particularly for children and young people," he said.
"Through the Postbox to Heaven children will be able to send letters and cards at any time but particularly on birthdays and Christmas when their loss is felt so much greater.
"I know this will bring great comfort to many families."
While there is no timeframe for the postboxes to be installed, Cllr Smyth said that Council are keen to progress them as soon as possible.
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