Royal Mail has issued a delivery delay warning covering 142 UK postcode areas today, with disruption affecting large parts of the country including Bedford, Chester, Margate, Merthyr Tydfil and Inverclyde, as the delivery firm blames local staffing and resourcing issues.
Royal Mail has warned that deliveries will be delayed across 142 UK postcode areas today, Thursday, 13 August, publishing a full list of the affected locations. The disruption spans large parts of the country, including delivery offices covering Bedford, Chester, Margate, Merthyr Tydfil and Inverclyde. Royal Mail said the delays stem from local issues at individual delivery offices, including high levels of staff sickness and resourcing pressures, rather than any nationwide problem with its network.
Why deliveries are being delayed
Explaining the cause of the disruption, Royal Mail 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 high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors.” The company added: “In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers. 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.”
Royal Mail apologised for the inconvenience caused, saying: “We’re sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.”
How the wider network has performed
According to Royal Mail, its air and road network operated to schedule over the past 24 hours, meaning the disruption is isolated to specific local delivery offices rather than the transport network as a whole. However, not all mail centres processed or dispatched post according to schedule during that period.
Manchester Mail Centre has confirmed that some mail posted within the BL, M, OL and SK postcode areas is destined for delivery elsewhere in the UK, reflecting the routing complexities that can arise during periods of local disruption.
Royal Mail’s standard delivery commitments
Under normal circumstances, Royal Mail aims to deliver to addresses by 4.30pm on every working day, Monday to Saturday. This standard does not apply universally across the UK, however; in certain locations, such as Scotland’s Highlands and Islands, delivery times are affected by what Royal Mail describes as “limited” transport links.
On Sunday and evening deliveries, Royal Mail said: “We also make some scheduled parcel deliveries later, which can include deliveries in the evening. These parcel deliveries can include Sundays with some geographical exceptions.” The company also confirmed that it does not typically deliver on bank, public or local holidays.
Full list of affected areas
The following delivery offices and postcode areas are affected by delays today:
- Altens DO (AB10, AB11, AB12, AB35)
- Barry DO (CF63)
- Bedford MK40 DO (MK40–MK45)
- Blyth DO (NE24)
- Brierley Hill DO (DY5)
- Buckie DO (AB56)
- Burslem DO (ST6)
- Calderway DO (WF12–WF14)
- Carmarthen DO (SA17, SA31, SA32, SA33)
- Chester DO (CH1–CH4, CH88, CH99)
- Cullompton DO (EX15)
- Deal DO (CT14)
- Dudley DO (DY1–DY3)
- Ebbw Vale DO (NP23)
- Glaisdale Parkway DO (NG7, NG8)
- Glossop DO (SK13)
- Gosforth DO (NE3, NE13)
- Harehills DO (LS8)
- Heswall DO (CH31, CH60, CH61)
- Houghton Le Spring DO (DH4, DH5)
- Hoylake DO (CH47, CH48)
- Huntingdon DO (PE26–PE29)
- Ilfracombe DO (EX34)
- Inverclyde DO (PA14–PA19)
- Llangefni DO (LL62–LL78)
- Lutterworth DO (LE9, LE17)
- Kingswood DO (BS15, BS30)
- Margate DO (CT7–CT9)
- Merthyr Tydfil DO (CF47, CF48)
- Milton Keynes Kiln Farm DO (MK8, MK11–MK14, MK19)
- Mold DO (CH7)
- Mumbles DO (SA3)
- New Ferry DO (CH32, CH62, CH63)
- Newton Le Willows DO (WA3, WA12)
- Nuneaton DO (CV10, CV11, CV13)
- Pontefract DO (WF7–WF9, WF11)
- Rugby DO (CV21–CV23)
- Rugeley DO (WS15)
- Shrewsbury DO (SY1–SY5)
- Southam DO (CV47)
- Staines DO (TW18, TW19, TW20)
- Swindon DO (SN1, SN2, SN3, SN6, SN25, SN26, SN38, SN99)
- Torpoint DO (PL10, PL11)
- Warrington DO (WA1, WA2, WA4, WA5, WA55)
- Wednesbury DO (WS10)
- Weston Super Mare DO (BS22, BS23, BS24, BS40)
- Wilmslow DO (SK9)
- Witham DO (CM8)
- Wolverhampton DO (WV1–WV5, WV10, WV13, WV14)
- Wolverhampton NE DO (WV11, WV12)
- Woolton DO (L25–L27)
Residents in any of the affected postcode areas are advised to check Royal Mail’s official updates for further information on when normal delivery schedules are expected to resume.
