Royal Mail have shared an update after Portishead residents raised concerns about the delivery of post in the area, and the sorry state of a town centre post box.
One local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, shared images with the North Somerset Times of a post box directly outside the Portishead Royal Mail delivery office which she claimed is covered in bird droppings.
She said: "I was so taken aback and shocked by the state of this post box, and the [cleanliness of] the handle for elderly people to help them walk up the steps."
A nearby sign indicates the post-box will be cleaned by July 31, but the resident advised she took the photo several weeks after that date and the "unhygienic" excrement remained.
It is understood that there are plans in place to clean up the post box shortly.
The resident added: "I had some letters arrive that were two weeks late that could have left me with a fine. A letter that was important and needed action by September 10 I didn't get until today (September 14)."
A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "We know how important it is for customers to receive their mail when expected and take concerns about deliveries very seriously.
"Our service is improving across the UK, with 85 per cent of First Class mail now delivered the next working day and 98.1 per cent delivered within three days. We know there is more to do and are investing £500m over five years to improve reliability across the network.
"While deliveries in Portishead have now returned to normal, recent resourcing challenges affected some local delivery routes and we are sorry for the inconvenience this caused. Any mail that cannot be delivered on a given day is prioritised for delivery the next working day."