Postal deliveries delayed for weeks, residents say

People in Bridgwater have hit out at postal delays with some complaining that important post, including bills and medical appointments, have not been delivered.

Residents said the problems with Royal Mail deliveries in the Somerset town have been going on for six months with some post being delayed by weeks.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said some short-term sickness had affected deliveries.

Some Bridgwater residents wrote to the BBC, saying some people had taken "the extreme measure" of going to the sorting office to collect their post where waiting times could be "up to an hour".

David Gliddon, from Bridgwater, said: "This prolonged disruption is causing significant inconvenience and concern, particularly where important correspondence may now be delayed or missing."

Jayne Mogg, from Chilton Polden, said she nearly missed a medical appointment with a consultant because the letter was not delivered.

She said she only realised she had an appointment after being sent a text from the hospital.

Ashley Fox, MP for Bridgwater, said on social media that he intended to raise the issue in Parliament and with Royal Mail.

"Quite simply, the service in some parts of the constituency is not good enough with some residents reportedly waiting weeks between deliveries," Fox said.

"I have already raised these concerns directly with Royal Mail and will be doing so again."

The Royal Mail spokesperson said additional resources were now in place and they said they expected services to return to normal over the coming week.

"Our latest results show our service is improving, with 85% of First Class letters delivered the next working day and 98.1% within three days.

"Across all letters, 93% of mail is delivered on time and more than 99% within a week," they said.

Iona Sharkey, from Citizens Advice Somerset, said: "Our clients really need to have confidence in the postal service."

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