More than half the Netherlands’ 19,000 post boxes are to be removed because of falling volumes of post but those which remain will be concentrated in central areas with easy access, PostNL said on Thursday.

Earlier this week, senators voted in favour of changing the rules to allow PostNL to remove over 10,000 post boxes in order to save cash.

Organisations representing the elderly had urged PostNL to think carefully about the plans because older people are more likely to post letters.

They say post boxes should be concentrated in shopping centres, on the way in to residential areas and near healthcare institutions. ‘PostNL has listened to us,’ a spokesman told news agency ANP.