FRUSTRATED residents are offering to voluntarily work in a Royal Mail sorting office after claiming they have had to “wait weeks” for deliveries.

Dozens of Rayleigh residents have complained about late deliveries and missing out on letters.

Royal Mail has admitted it has been impacted by “high levels of sick absence, resourcing or other local factors”.

One resident even offered to go down to the sorting office and help sort the post herself - an idea backed by multiple residents on social media.

Royal Mail has insisted it is committed to fulfilling all deliveries and insisted delays are “three days at most”.

John Smith, 73, of The Chase, said: “I’m irritated because I’ve been waiting two weeks for my Radio Times magazine and other letters to arrive but to no luck, so if volunteering to help in the sorting office is an option, I back it.

“There are days where I see the little red vans with two people in delivering parcels, so if they’re out and about, why can’t they just chuck letters in the back and deliver them also?

“I subscribe to the Radio Times to get the magazine delivered at half price but as it hasn’t come, it’s a waste of time.

“I’m having to go out and spend more to get it because of the delivery issues.

“I just hope it gets sorted as soon as possible.”

People have been taking to Facebook to express their frustration about the situation.

One said: “So annoying. We have just received our first post in 10 days.”

Another wrote: “I’m still waiting for a letter that was due about November 29.”

However, Matthew Scott, 46, of Eastern Road, Rayleigh, says he has had “some delays with post being a week late but most things are coming on time”.

A spokesman for Royal Mail said: “We are committed to fulfilling every route, and when a delay occurs, we have measures in place to ensure these are kept to a minimum.

“We will prioritise routes that are not filled meaning at most a delay will be three days.

“It’s important to note not every home has mail to be delivered to daily, so if a person has not received letter deliveries for a few days, there’s also the possibility there is no mail to be delivered.”