Residents in North Oxford said they were disgusted that a mailbag containing up to 300 items was stolen after it was left behind a shop.

The Post Office branch in Hayfield Road closed last year as part of a rationalisation programme. But Bunters delicatessen is still run from the site and Royal Mail asked manager Manos Vernicos if they could leave mail bags in the store.

But Mr Vernicos, 34, sub-postmaster at the store for 10 years before the branch closed, refused on security grounds. The Post Office then decided that postmen should use an open yard at the rear of the store as a "safe drop" when they had too many bags to carry.

On November 15, a bag of mail was stolen from the rear of the shop, and residents living in Hayfield Road, Chalfont Road, Polstead Road, Burgess Mead, and Navigation Way may have had items of mail stolen.

Kelvin Chambers, 52, who helps run Aladdin repair garage in Hayfield Road, said the thieves had tried to use the garage's cheque book to cash cheques for £1,790, £2,000 and £2,200. He said: "I think what happened was disgusting. We were very lucky because my Headington branch of NatWest realised something was wrong.

"If we had lost the money, it could have finished a small business like us. If the Post Office had not shut the branch then this would not have happened.

"I don't blame the postmen themselves because they cannot carry all the mail, but their managers should have made better arrangements."

Mr Vernicos, who still runs Bunters, added: "It's blatantly stupid to leave mailbags out in the open."

Ann Porter, who is in her 60s, and lives in Hayfield Road, discovered that thieves had stolen her NatWest debit card and used it to buy goods worth £1,500. She said: "I'm sure I will be reimbursed, but it's very inconvenient and I feel that this need not have happened."

Royal Mail spokesman Sue Dakin said the theft of mailbags in the Oxford area was rare. She added: "Postmen use a number of safe drops because they cannot carry all the mail they have to deliver at any one time.

"We regret the theft of the mail pouch in Hayfield Road and will no longer be using the rear of the store as a safe drop.

"If any customers have not received their mail, they should contact our customer services department on 08457 740740."