Royal Mail delivers post on Sundays to clear backlog

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The Royal Mail has said it will re-introduce Sunday deliveries temporarily in parts of South Cheshire, in order to clear a backlog of mail.

But the Communication Worker's Union (CWU) says the problem of postal delays in South Cheshire is even worse than Royal Mail claims.

Royal Mail says it has just 24 hours' worth of post to clear.

Carl Webb from the CWU, which represents postal workers, has dismissed this amount as "nonsense".

Crewe office closure

Royal Mail insists it has taken on extra staff; and has blamed the delays on changes to the way the mail is processed at new regional centres, after the closure of local sorting offices.

The sorting office in Crewe was closed down in August 2010 when work moved to Warrington. The CWU North-West Regional Secretary Carl Webb says that should never have happened and it is causing bigger problems than the company admits.

"We campaigned to keep the Crewe mail centre open. It just didn't make sense moving the work to Warrington," said Mr Webb.

"And they are struggling - there's no doubt about it. And this 24 hours claim is actually quite nonsense."

Royal Mail recently apologised to customers who have experienced delays.

Last year, Royal Mail's own figures revealed that residents and businesses with a Crewe postcode were receiving the second worst postal service in mainland Britain. In the third quarter of 2010, the CW postcode area came 120th in a table of 121 main postcode areas in England, Scotland and Wales.