DELAYS to postal services in several areas of Essex will continue today as two delivery offices continue to report issues.

A daily list of delivery offices facing delays on the Royal Mail website has been updated this morning which has seen the removal of Colchester’s delivery office from the list.

Eight Colchester postcode areas had faced delays for several days.

CM postcodes in Braintree and Harlow remain on the list of affected areas.

On its website, Royal Mail said: “Deliveries are operating as normal across the UK today.

“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.

“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.

“We're sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.”

Colchester councillor Lee Scordis has called for Royal Mail to be brought “back into national ownership where it belongs”.

Which Essex postcode areas are experiencing postal delays today?

Braintree

The affected postcode areas in Braintree are CM6, CM7, and CM77.

These postcodes cover:

  • CM6 - Great Dunmow, Felsted
  • CM7 - Braintree, Finchingfield, Great Bardfield
  • CM77 - Braintree, Great Notley, Rayne

Harlow

The affected postcode areas in Harlow are CM17 to CM20 and CM92.

These postcodes cover:

  • CM17 - Harlow, Old Harlow, Matching, Matching Tye, Matching Green, Church Langley
  • CM18 - Harlow
  • CM19 - Harlow, Roydon
  • CM20 - Harlow, Gilston
  • CM92 - Harlow, Pinnacles

The national picture is improving, with a further 14 delivery offices across the country also experiencing delays to Royal Mail deliveries today, down from a total of 18 yesterday.

When is the next Royal Mail strike?

The CWU union, which represents Royal Mail staff, has not announced any dates for further strike action to take place.

In the event the CWU do announce further strike action, Royal Mail “have plans to minimise disruption and get services back to normal as soon as possible after strike action to keep people, businesses and the country connected”.