TALKING newspapers for Northwich's blind and partially sighted residents are arriving weeks out of date thanks to Royal Mail.
Vale Royal Talking Newspaper (VRTN) has been making 90-minute recordings of the best local news stories from the Northwich & Winsford Guardian every week for 48 years.
On Thursdays, volunteers meet at Weaver Hall Museum and Workhouse to record their content which is then posted out to around half its clients on memory sticks.
However, due to the current dire Royal Mail service in Northwich, the news is regularly two weeks old or more by the time its clients receive it.
VRTN, which receives no statutory funding, recently had to fork out £300 on extra wallets and memory sticks as so many of theirs spend weeks sitting undelivered in Royal Mail sorting office.
“There was a time when you’d slip it into the post on Thursday afternoon and it would be delivered Friday morning,” said VRTN chairman, Jim Swainson.
“The client would slip it back in the post early the following week and we’d have it back in good time to record the following week’s news.
“But the postal service has just kept going downhill and downhill.
“First we went up to two wallets per client, but in October, we took the decision to go up to three.
“We’re expecting this new system to start early in the new year.
“We’re local charity with no sponsor and no regular income.
“We have had to spend around £300 of our precious funds to introduce this third wallet into our postal process through no fault of our own.
“It the last thing we wanted to have to do.”
Jim said the delays are ‘very frustrating’ for VRTN clients, for who being able to get local news is an important aspect of feeling connected to the community.
“They miss their news,” he added.
“No one wants news which is two weeks old.”
Royal Mail have denied there is a structural problem at Northwich sorting office, adding ‘letters and parcels are still being delivered’.
Its spokesperson said: “Where a route is affected, our teams work to resolve any delays as quickly as possible.”
MP for Mid Cheshire, Andrew Cooper, wrote to Royal Mail on Monday, December 15, expressing concerns about the dire state of current postal deliveries.
Mr Cooper stressed he is not criticising 'hard-working postal workers', but is concerned about 'organisation, staffing levels, and prioritisation decisions'.