Royal Mail has issued a delivery update for addresses throughout the UK, with delays anticipated across more than 100 areas, including the West Midlands. The postal firm has published a list of postcode areas that are most severely impacted.
Residents and businesses in affected parts of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are likely to experience hold-ups. As of Tuesday, August 17, delays are being reported across 139 postcode areas, with further disruption recorded at mail centres in Leeds and Manchester.
Leeds and Manchester mail centre disruptions
In Leeds, some mail posted yesterday in the BD, HD, HG, HX, LS and WF postcode areas are due for delivery today in other parts of the UK. While in Manchester, some mail posted in the BL, M, OL and SK postcode areas are due for delivery today in other parts of the UK.
Royal Mail's air and road network has ran to schedule over the past 24 hours. The company said: "We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week.
"In a small number of local offices, this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors.
"In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers.
"We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.
"We're sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding."
West Midlands postcodes affected
Royal Mail's disruptions are impacting regions across the UK, including Brierly Hill, Burslem, Dudley, Stratford-upon-Avon and Wolverhampton. The full list of affected delivery offices and their postcodes includes:
- Brierley Hill DO (DY5)
- Burslem DO (ST6)
- Dudley DO (DY1-DY3)
- Stratford Upon Avon DO (CV36, CV37)
- Wolverhampton NE DO (WV11, WV12)
- Wednesbury DO (WS10)
- Rugeley DO (WS15)
- Shrewsbury DO (SY1-SY5)
- Bridgnorth DO (WV15, WV16)
Other affected areas across the UK include Altens, Basingstoke, Bedford, Bordon, Bristol North, Calderway, Cambridge, Carmarthen, Chester, Chichester, Cullompton, Ebbw Vale, Glossop, Gosforth, Harehills, Henfield, Heswall, Hoylake, Huntingdon, Ilfracombe, Inverclyde, Kentish Town, Llangefni, Margate, Milton Keynes Kiln Farm, Mold, Nuneaton, Orton Southgate, Port Ellen, Reading West, Swindon, Torrington, Upton, Wellington, and Wilmslow.
Delivery times and exceptions
Royal Mail strives to deliver to properties by 4.30pm each working day, spanning Monday through Saturday. However, this target does not extend to certain areas such as Scotland's Highlands and Islands, where "transport is limited".
Regarding Sunday and evening deliveries, Royal Mail clarified: "We also make some scheduled parcel deliveries later, which can include deliveries in the evening.
"These parcel deliveries can include Sundays with some geographical exceptions."
The company continues to monitor the situation and provide support to affected offices, aiming to restore normal service levels as soon as possible.
