'Absolute chaos' at Leeds Royal Mail as vans 'attacked' and staff shortages faced at Seacroft sorting office

Royal Mail staff have reported being threatened and targeted by thieves a during rounds in Halton Moor in recent weeks and as a result they have not been delivering to the district.

One Halton Moor resident, Michael Sutton, went to Royal Mail Delivery Office in Seacroft on Saturday to collect a parcel and a medical prescription that hadn't been delivered. He had received a notice saying that his address was "inaccessible".

Mr Sutton, of Ullswater Crescent, said that he was waiting for 45 minutes for the two parcels to be retrieved, adding: "There were five or six other people waiting in the sorting office. One woman had to leave because she was waiting for over an hour and had to go.

"The woman behind the counter said they are short staffed and that they haven't been delivering in Halton Moor because the vans are being attacked and robbed."

A member of staff who operates from Seacroft Delivery Office also got in touch with the YEP to say that postmen were being targeted in Halton Moor and that they had continued their rounds this week with a police presence.

On the matter of vans being targeted in Halton Moor, the Royal Mail confirmed that there had been issues, adding: "These incidents have increased in recent weeks with each one being reported to the police.

"As a precaution, we have needed to prioritise the safety of our colleagues in the area, and this has impacted deliveries to the estate. As of yesterday (Monday), we have re-commenced deliveries but will be risk assessing the situation daily. We thank customers in the area for their patience and understanding."

West Yorkshire Police was contacted for comment.

The member of staff added that there had been "absolute chaos" at the sorting office on account of staff shortages and managerial decisions.

He said that areas in the LS9, LS14 and LS15 postcode areas such East End Park, Halton and Harehills were not receiving their mail promptly as a result.

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He said that staff are being told to prioritise premium parcels that the company is paid more money for. He said: "There's trays and trays of mail not being touched. They're trying to make a dent in it but there's no staff there. It's absolutely ridiculous.

"It's the managers above, not the ones at our level, that our pulling the strings. Every day we come in and they say 'just concentrate on your tracked packages'. I've never known it as bad as this.

"It's frustrating. You go in the morning and know you are not going to do your job."

He added: "There's not enough staff. There's people joining and then leaving because of how it is and then they don't replace them.

"We didn't used to have a large turnover and now it's every week."

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "There have been issues with vacancies at the delivery office, however, we have a recruitment plan in place, and we would reassure customers that the vast majority of mail in the area continues to be delivered on time."