Spennymoor resident says Royal Mail delays are a 'nightmare'

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https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/ ... nightmare/

A resident in a County Durham town said they are living in a 'nightmare' as people are missing hospital appointments due to delays in their mail.

Lisa, 50, who lives in Middlestone Moor, near Spennymoor, says deliveries in her neighbourhood have become increasingly unreliable, with some households receiving post as infrequently as once every two weeks.

She claimed that the issue has already led to people missing important hospital appointments.

Royal Mail acknowledged that mail is very important and said that local issues are caused by 'temporary resourcing pressures' as they focus on trying to restore normal service as quickly as possible.

Lisa emphasised that while residents appreciate the efforts of postal workers, she believes staffing levels are not sufficient to meet demand across the area.

She also expressed concern about future housing developments, warning that an additional 300 homes could place even greater strain on already stretched services.

Lisa said: "We are lucky if we get it every two weeks. We cannot fault the postmen as they are trying there hardest but I just don't think there are enough of them to cover such a vast area.

"There are plans for another 300 homes to come in the area and I just dread to think what it will be like when they come if we don't get more post men or something in place.

"It's just a nightmare and has been going on since before Christmas now. It is a massive problem, people are missing hospital appointments and post is so important to a lot of people.

"I am not very mobile so can't get out to the post office often and have a lot of appointments and it is really concerning."

Alan Strickland, the MP for Spennymoor, spoke of how hard posties work 'come rain or shine' and that he is set to launch a survey for people in the area so he can raise the problems directly with Royal Mail and Ofcom.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We know how important it is that customers receive their mail on time, particularly when it includes items such as medical letters.

“We always aim to deliver all mail as expected and recent figures show around 92 per cent of letters arrive on time, but we recognise performance is not yet where it needs to be in all areas.

“Where there are local issues, these are typically caused by temporary resourcing pressures, and we focus on restoring normal service as quickly as possible.”

Alan Strickland MP said: "Our local posties work really hard come rain, wind or shine, but I’m aware that national problems at Royal Mail have been causing unacceptable delivery delays for people in our area.

"Just last week I raised this in Parliament with ministers and am launching a survey of people in my constituency so I can raise these problems directly with Royal Mail and Ofcom.”