A COUPLE from Brierfield sent their Christmas greetings in an unusual way by using a stamp-style photograph of themselves on their envelopes.

Ron and Betty Ormerod, of Walter Street, Brierfield, felt like royalty as they replaced the Queen on the front of the envelope and had their heads stamped by Royal Mail.

But the the couple are not getting too excited about becoming a permanent fixture as it was simply part of a promotion by Royal Mail during the festive period.

Great-grandparents Ron, 75, and Betty, 71, received a letter in November asking them if they wanted to order Smilers -- a Christmas stamp and adjoining picture label -- and Ron decided to send off for a sheet of 20 second class.

A spokesman for Royal Mail said: "They took the form of a label which you could stick next to the stamp but didn't have a value as a stamp would. They are not generally available. It was all to do with gauging how popular they were and it seems they were very popular."