Leicester area is one of 90 postcodes affected by delays announced today by the Royal Mail

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https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news ... es-6467589

The postal service has explained it is experiencing ongoing problems due to Covid and staff shortages

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The Royal Mail has warned customers of continued delays today because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Postcodes across the country are affected by problems caused by staff shortages due to Covid and self-isolation rules, according to the postal service.

It has revealed issues in a total of 90 postcode areas of the country - including one in Leicestershire.

The delays have been labelled an "absolute disgrace" by some annoyed customers, many of whom who have taken to social media to vent their frustration, writes The Express.

Delays had been reported in the city and county over the busy Christmas and New Year period due to high levels of absenteeism at the Royal Mail's South Midlands Mail Centre in Northampton.

But more than a fortnight after Christmas, there are still customers who are not receiving their post and parcels on time.

The Royal Mail network uses air, rail and road to move letters and parcels between distribution hubs, mail processing centres and delivery offices across the UK.

The network is reported to have operated to schedule over the weekend - but for a number of "small local offices", including Shepshed, in Leicestershire.

In a statement published on the postal service's website today, it 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 Covid-related self isolation, high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors.

"In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers."

Added pressure from sorting, organising and delivering COVID-19 test kits has exacerbated problems in some areas (Image: Getty Images)
It adds: "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."

The offices most impacted are:

Amesbury (SP3 and SP4)

Barnsley DO (S70, S71, S72 and S75)

Bicester DO (OX25 to OX27)

Bredbury DO (SK6)

Buckingham DO (MK18)

Caldicot DO (NP26)

Camberwell (SE5)

Chelmsford DO (CM1 to CM3)

Chipping Norton DO (OX7)

Cricklewood DO (NW2)

Croydon DO (CR0 and CR9)

East Dulwich DO (SE22)

Erskine DO (PA7 and PA8)

Finsbury Park DO (N4)

Gerrards Cross DO (SL9)

Gosport DO (PO12 and PO13)

Greenwich DO (SE10)

Hanwell (W7)

Harlow DO (CM17 to CM20 and CM92)

Harold Hill DO (RM3)

Havant DO (PO9 to 10)

Hendon (NW4)

Herne Hill DO (SE24)

Holloway DO (N7)

Hornsey DO (N8)

Islington DO (N1 and N1C)

Keynsham DO (BS31)

Lancing (BN15)

Maida Hill DO (W9)

Manchester South West DO (M15, M16 and M32)

Muswell Hill DO (N10)

New Ferry DO (CH32, CH62 and CH63)

Newport East DO (NP18 and NP19)

Norwood DO (SE19)

Oxted DO (RH8)

Peacehaven DO (BN10)

Prenton DO (CH43)

Rayleigh DO (SS6)

Redcar DO (TS10 and TS11)

Rottingdean DO (BN2 and BN51)

Sheffield North East DO (S5)

Shepshed DO (LE12)

South Croydon DO (CR2)

St. Helens DO (WA9 to WA11)

Swindon West DO (SN5)

Sydenham DO (SE26)

Thame DO (OX9 and OX39)

The Hyde DO (NW9)

Upper Holloway DO (N19)

Upton DO (CH30 and CH39)

Wallasey DO (CH27, CH44 and CH45)

Wantage DO (OX12)

Ware DO (SG9 to SG12)

Willesden DO (NW10 and NW26)

Wootton Bassett DO (SN4 and SN16)

The Royal Mail said the added pressure of sorting, organising and delivering COVID-19 test kits has exacerbated problems in some areas.

"Every day we serve hundreds of thousands of test kits on behalf of the NHS," said a spokesperson.

"We're in regular contact with the UK Health Security Agency regarding the increased demand for test kits and have extended our capacity to help manage this at their request."

They added: "We continue to prioritise NHS test kits for delivery and collection, including additional collections at our network of priority postboxes."

Many customers are deeply dissatisfied at the service.

Twitter user @VicB1845 said: "@RoyalMailHelp Another missing parcel from your lovely lazy driver...Showing it is delivered on the 6th of January but it is nowhere to be seen!"

They followed up with: "I AM STILL WAITING for someone to finally pick up that message. Royal Mail is DISGRACE!!! Absolute disgrace !!!!!!!!"

@notpanashexi wrote on Twitter: "@RoyalMail @RoyalMailHelp where the hell are my deliveries ? They’ve been ‘out for delivery’ and 'arriving today' for about seven days."