TEN years ago, this week, Royal Mail shocked customers living in a remote community by announcing it will no longer deliver their post – for health and safety reasons.

Residents in the hamlet of Booze, in Arkengarthdale, North Yorkshire, accused Royal Mail of "cutting services by stealth" after they were told the road leading up to their houses was too steep, and could exacerbate the back injury of one of its employees.

People in the hamlet's 11 houses received letters the previous week telling them deliveries would be suspended the following day, and that they could collect their post from the sorting office in Richmond – a 45-minute drive away.

North Yorkshire county councillor John Blackie, who represents the Upper Dales, said: "This is the thin end of the wedge. It represents a dangerous threat to services in remote communities everywhere."

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said there were no plans to cut services elsewhere, but that the health and safety of its staff was of paramount importance.

In other news, The Northern Echo reported on a jail riot following a stand-off between inmates and officers.

Terrorist prisoners left thousands of pounds worth of damage when they smashed up cells in top-security Frankland Prison near Durham City.

One prison officer was hurt during the four-hour riot which involved nine convicts.

The injured officer suffered ligament damage to his hand and was taken to hospital.

Also, that week, a report by MPs said motorists facing road tax rises should be paid up to £1,000 to replace their cars with greener models.

The Government was told to explore a new car scrappage scheme already tried in France and the US to ease vehicle excise duty (VED) rises for more polluting cars.

England’s cricket team announced Kevin Pietersen as its new captain.

Pietersen said he had repaired his relationship with coach Peter Moores and that the pair were ready to work together.

The 28-year-old Hampshire batsman took charge following the resignations of Michael Vaughan and Paul Collingwood as England's Test and one-day captains.

And the region's biggest gas and electricity company warned that higher bills were inevitable in the wake of huge price increases by its competitors.

Npower said it was hoping to hold down prices for as long as possible – but said higher charges were on the way.

Price increases by the utility companies were criticised by debt advice agencies, which said that double-digit rises would push more people below the poverty line.