Residents unhappy over 'woeful' delays to post

Jen Caple said some residents of Hempsted had gone weeks without receiving post

Residents have called the Royal Mail service in their area "woeful" after going weeks without deliveries of post, which has led to some people missing hospital appointments.

People in the Abbeydale, Abbeymead, and Hempsted areas of Gloucester have faced lengthy delays to deliveries, sometimes followed by a backlog arriving in one day.

Alex McIntyre, Gloucester MP, said there are currently 40 vacancies across the city's two delivery offices for postal carriers and other staff, and that there needed to be a drive for not just recruitment, but retention of staff.

Royal Mail has apologised for the delays and inconvenience, adding: "We're delivering the vast majority of mail as normal."

Jen Caple, of Hempsted Residents Association, said one person had resorted to collecting three weeks worth of post from a sorting office.

"A letter from the hospital, someone very upset they received it two days after their due appointment and they'd been waiting a long time," she said.

"The whole thing has been quite woeful."

Liz Trowbridge said she had been affected by postal delays in Abbeymead

In Abbeymead, Liz Trowbridge said she had waited a week for a cheque sent first class by her mum to arrive.

"I am actually waiting for a hospital letter for a smear test which I had done a month ago," she said.

Nick Clifford, who also lives in Abbeymead, said his son's birthday cards arrived more than a week late in July.

"We don't tend to get post to be honest... it used to be every single day but these days you're lucky if you get it every two or three days," he added.

Recruitment and retention

McIntyre said postal workers "do a fantastic job" but "clearly there's something not working".

After meeting local and national Royal Mail teams, the MP said a shortage of staff was "the biggest issue".

"It's not just about recruitment, it's also about retention and making sure that the brilliant posties we've got already here in the city feel looked after and they want to carry on doing that job," he said.

A spokesperson for Royal Mail said: "We're sorry that some customers in the Gloucester area have experienced delays to their mail deliveries.

"We... are working hard to ensure all deliveries arrive at their expected time. We apologise for the inconvenience and thank customers for their patience."