A MEDICALLY retired firefighter from Tadley said he has had no post deliveries for four days.

Paul Jones, who is disabled because of damage on his left leg, is waiting for hospital appointments to come through the post, and said the area he lives in Birch Road, has been suffering problems with missed deliveries since November last year.

He got in touch with the Gazette after reading about problems in other areas of the town including Sherborne Fields and Sherborne St John.

The 50-year-old, who is a full-time carer to his parents, believes the post service is not up to scratch.

He said: “The sorting office has been told to concentrate on parcels not normal letters. We have now had no post for four days again. I have been in touch with Royal Mail customer service which was sent to the escalation team. They said that all deliveries are being carried out as normal, which is rubbish. It is an absolute lie.

“I have written to my MP Kit Malthouse as he has helped before regarding the lack of service. I am sick to death with their lies.”

The former firefighter is also waiting for a quote to have a dropped kerb to help with access to his home because of his disabilities.

Read more: Post problems continue to impact Basingstoke

He added: “We have one postal worker, a girl, who is absolutely brilliant. As soon as she goes off, she comes back to an absolute mountain of work, the poor lass.

“We even went five days without any mail before Christmas, I have nicknamed them Royal Fail as that’s exactly what they are. I am sick to death of it. Ever since they shut the sorting office in Tadley and went to Basingstoke, it is ridiculous. It is about time that people knew the truth about their lack of service.”

Paul believes there should be an independent body look into the problems, adding: “The price is going up but we’re getting a rubbish service. We haven’t received Christmas cards from north-east England that were posted before Christmas.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “The vast majority of mail is delivered safely and on time. We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week. In the local area, we are experiencing some delays to service due to Covid-related sickness absence.

“We apologise to customers for any inconvenience they may experience as we work hard to resolve the situation. Anyone who has concerns over the delivery of their mail should contact the Royal Mail customer service team on 03457 740 740 or via the Royal Mail website www.royalmail.com.”

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