These picture were taken at the height of the backlog a few days after the snow, on January 9
IF you are anxiously waiting for a parcel the chances are that it is somewhere in this picture - among thousands of undelivered packages dumped in a canteen.
One postman told The Chronicle: "We couldn't even get to the drinks machine it was that bad."
But postal staff willing to work weekends to clear the backlog claim they are being set an impossible target by managers of delivering 25 parcels an hour - including driving and knocking on customers' doors.
The postman, who wants to remain anonymous, said that in the last few days some of the 2,000 parcels have been shifted around the West Reading Delivery Office in Ashmere Terrace, and others have been delivered.
He said: "The weather has played a big part but it's due to managerial incompetence - everything is a mess."
He said delivering 10 to 12 packages an hour is the realistic maximum.
Kevin Buckland from Mayfair, Tilehurst, waited three weeks for five parcels worth £150, ordered online at the end of December, which didn't arrive until Tuesday. He said: "It was unacceptable, I didn't know whether to cancel the parcels or risk waiting."
Mr Buckland, 47, a sales manager for engineering firm Honeywell who once worked as a postman, added: "I don't blame the postmen, I blame the management who need to get this sorted out. There are lots of people still waiting for parcels."
Another west Reading postman said: "It's absolutely despicable what's been going on here. The management should just let the posties get on with their jobs without the constant disciplinary threats.
"The backlog is starting to disappear, but there are still a lot of packages lying around.
"Anyone who volunteered to come in at weekends but didn't do 25 parcels an hour would be disciplined, that's how we understood it."
Royal Mail spokesman Richard Hall denied that, saying: "We set an expectation on Sunday to clear a large volume of the backlog but at no time was disciplinary action threatened to any of the overtime volunteers."
He added: "We faced significant difficulties in some areas because of the recent extreme weather conditions. All of our people continued to work extremely hard to restore normal service as quickly as possible as conditions eased, which has been achieved with the delivery of letters but we have been left with a backlog of packets.
"Extra vehicles and resources have been deployed at the West Reading Delivery Office including the delivery of packets on Sunday. We expect the remaining items to be cleared by today. We would like to apologise to customers for the disruption during the bad weather."