Royal Mail post boxes have been given a makeover in Ruislip and decorated with hand-knitted toppers. 

The unique postbox toppers have been created by Ruislip Arts and Crafts, a group that was set up in lockdown with an aim to unite creative people and bring together the community. 

The pieces have been hugely popular, with people queuing up to take photos with them.

Each topper has a QR code attached to it which allows passers by to donate to a charity.

Ruislip Arts and Crafts member Fran Tracey said: “For us it’s all about the community and bringing people together.

“When we started we chose London Air Ambulance, Young Minds and the Hillingdon Food Bank, but we’ve now got a variety of charities that people can donate to.” 

So far they’ve made around 40 toppers throughout the area which have all been worked on collaboratively by members of the group. 

The designs come for various ideas but normally have a seasonal theme or relate to the local area.

Currently they are creating a topper to represent Ruislip's famous lido. 

When the group was set up they envisioned only having about 20 people but the online community has now grown to over 700.

Unfortunately one of their creations was stolen, so the toppers are now fastened on with cable ties. 

Group member Sarah Green said: “There’s 90 postboxes in Ruislip, so the goal is to cover all of them and we hopefully plan to have a bit of an exhibition.” 

The group plans to engage with the community further by putting on workshops as well as working with care homes and youth groups. 

The group has also carried out zoom classes so that people can learn the skills to create the toppers. 

There’s even a trail you can follow to visit nearly all of the toppers and make a day of it.