A LITTLE girl’s idea of sending letters to lost loved ones has been fulfilled at one south Essex cemetery and crematorium.

Matilda Handy’s memorial post box initiative sparked after wishing she could send her grandparents a birthday and Christmas card.

First set up in Nottingham’s Gelding Crematorium, owned by the Westerleigh Group, the nine-year-old’s thought proved popular with “over 100” letters and cards being posted within the first few weeks.

As the response was very positive from across the country, the firm has decided to roll it out to all its sites over the coming weeks, including Basildon and District Cemetery and Crematorium.

Adam Mayers, manager at Basildon and District Cemetery and Crematorium, said: “Having seen the response to the first memorial post box at Gedling Crematorium, I am pleased to have installed something similar here at Basildon, enabling our bereaved communities to have access to this wonderful asset too.

“This is just another way in which we can provide emotional support to local families and is part of the uniquely personal exceptional care that all Westerleigh Group’s crematoria are committed to deliver.”

Reacting to the initiative being spread, Matilda’s mum Leanne Handy, Gedling Crematorium’s memorial advisor, said: “Matilda and I were delighted when we learned that Westerleigh Group was going to install similar boxes across all its crematoria so that people all over the country will be able to use them.

“We were thrilled by the positive response to the box, and I feel very proud.

“We’ve had amazing comments from members of the community who have used it, about the comfort they have gained from writing letters and cards.

“I am so pleased that local people are using it, and taking some comfort from it, as another way of feeling connected to their loved ones.”

The memorial boxes are always available for anyone to use who wants to write a message to someone no longer alive, regardless of if they have used any of the group’s 37 pleasant, tranquil UK sites.

For more information about the memorial post box at Basildon and District Cemetery and Crematorium, visit www.basildoncrem.co.uk/letters-to-loved-ones.