Post chaos as staff off sick

Bouts of staff sickness at Royal Mail have left some city residents without any post for almost two weeks.

People in Canterbury say it has been taking as long as 12 days for some letters and parcels to arrive.

Royal Mail says the issue is due to a number of staff being taken ill, and that it will aim to deliver post “at least every other day” if the problem continues.

But Sturry resident Lesley Searson, 64, has been left frustrated and worried by the delays, as she continues to wait for important legal documents to arrive.

“Until Tuesday, we had gone 12 days with nothing, and before that we had been getting one or two deliveries a week since the beginning of October,” she said.

“We have a small business that at the moment is requiring legal documents to be signed, which still haven’t arrived in the post, and also I’d been waiting twoand-a-half weeks for tickets to a concert on Saturday at the Royal Albert Hall.

“For it to take over two weeks to have tickets come from London to Sturry is utterly ridiculous, when I could have got on the train and got them myself.”

Charles Barton, who lives in The Spires near Station Road West, has seen two recent items take nine days to arrive.

He says he has “the highest regard for the posties”, but wishes the Royal Mail would communicate better with residents about ongoing issues.

Across the city, residents in the Old Dover Road area have also reported delays, with parcels taking more than a week to arrive.

And teacher Andy Harmsworth, 67, of Hawe Lane in Sturry, says he is waiting for exams papers from France to arrive for him to mark.

“The really frustrating thing about it is it’s gone on so long, and there doesn’t seem to be anybody at Royal Mail who we can contact to ask about the situation,” he said.

Royal Mail bosses have issued an apology, as they insist they are “working hard to resolve the situation”, which they say is “improving”.

A spokesperson did not respond when asked by the Gazette if the staff sickness is Covid-related.

A number of Sturry residents, pictured, went without post for 12 days

Stock picture Staff sickness has led to postal delays