Mail enthusiast spends 30 years amassing mainland UK's largest post-box collection

A mail enthusiast has spent more than 30 years amassing the largest private collection of post boxes in mainland UK.

Steve Knight, 63, began his collection 35 years ago after noticing how the iconic red pillar boxes stood out on the UK's streets.

The Colne Valley Postal History Museum, in Halstead, Essex, is home to 166 post-boxes, 25 stamp vending machines and thousands of pieces of ephemera.

Steve opened the 536 square foot museum, based in his garden, to the public 30 years ago - and has welcomed visitors across the globe.

Steve, who became a stamp collector as a child, said: "Post-boxes are the icon of the British street.

"If you go into central London as a Chinese tourist, the two things they're going to sell is a model of a post-box and a telephone kiosk.

"They are iconic and it's important we preserve them. They're an important part of the social fabric and history of where we live.

"If there's one thing the British can claim as giving to the world - it is the postal service."

Steve, a keen Royal Mail collector, bought his first post-box at an antique shop in Cambs because he thought it'd look 'nice' in his garden.

However his collection soon grew and he opened the Colne Valley Postal History Museum in

The museum is the largest publicly accessible site in the mainland UK - beaten only by the Postal Museum in the Isle of Wight.

The oldest box available for viewing is a 1857 wall box - one of the first to be rolled out as the national standard.

The museum is also home to stamp vending machines - dating back to 1917 - which use pre-decimalisation money.