Jan Wall said the post-box is important to the local community

Royal Mail is reviewing collection times at 1,300 post-boxes in the area.

It says two collections in remote areas are "clearly inefficient".

But many residents including those from Bwlchgwyn, near Wrexham, say the post-boxes are well used and that they are being "penalised".

It is clearly inefficient, both in manpower and financial terms, to accrue large round-trip mileages in order to collect one or two items of mail Ian Johnston, Royal Mail

Barbara Conway, owner of the Moors Inn in Bwlchgwyn said she regularly uses the rural post-box near her home on Ruthin Road.

The small red box is earmarked for a reduced service.

"It's extremely well used, it's well used by the local community, there are a lot of outlying villages and farms. During the school run I see children using it so a tremendous amount of people use it," she said.

"I think we're being unnecessarily penalised and I think it's really quite abysmal."

Mrs Conway said if mail was only collected once a day she would be forced to drive to the nearest post office a few miles away to avoid a knock-on effect on her business.

The rural post box is situated on a roadside near a local public house

Her colleague Jan Wall said people rely on the post-box.

"Not everybody can afford to have mobile phones and telephones and that's the only way that they can communicate with people. I just think it's a crying shame," she said.

Royal Mail has said the only boxes affected will be small pedestal boxes in remote locations in the LL and CH postcode areas.

There will be no job losses arising from the changes.

Ian Johnston, Royal Mail area manager for north Wales and Chester said: "As a result of the introduction of single daily deliveries, our collection drivers are opening post-boxes later than in previous years," she said.

"This means that when the second collection occurs just a few hours later, there is very little or no mail to collect.

"It is clearly inefficient, both in manpower and financial terms, to accrue large round-trip mileages in order to collect one or two items of mail.

"Given the extremely low volumes of mail concerned, and with proper advance notice to customers, there will be no detrimental impact on quality of service."

The changes, which come into effect in April, have also angered north Wales AM Janet Ryder.

"People in rural areas have already been badly hit by the loss of other services and now they have to face this," she said.