Royal Mail ‘blackspot’

Ashford residents are receiving little or no mail due to staff shortages.

The town joins Margate on a Royal Mail blackspot list as the service struggles to deal with high numbers of Covid19 cases.

The areas, which cover postcodes from TN23 to TN27 for Ashford, are on a list of 27 in England and one in Northern Ireland that are experiencing severe problems with mail deliveries.

The other affected zones include 13 in or near London, as well as Leeds in West Yorkshire, Chelmsford in Essex and Widnes in Cheshire.

It is not known how many members of staff are affected in each area; a Royal Mail spokesman told the Kentish Express on Tuesday, January 5, that only four positive cases of the virus had been recorded in the Royal Mail sorting office in Tannery Lane, Ashford.

It is not clear if the situation has dramatically worsened, or if the number was inaccurate.

In a statement published with the list on its website, Royal Mail said it was “working hard to deliver the most comprehensive and high-quality service we can to all our customers despite the pandemic”.