Leeds area suffering from limited postal delivery services as Royal Mail workforce is affected by Covid

Residents in the Leeds City area are no longer receiving regular post because of the high numbers of Royal Mail staff who are either off sick or self-isolating.

Those living in the LS1-LS5 area are among residents in 26 other areas in England who are suffering from the limited delivery services.

In a statement published with the list on its website, Royal Mail said it was “working hard to deliver the most comprehensive and high quality service we can to all our customers” despite the pandemic and the associated rise in pressure on delivery resources due to increased online shopping.

The statement said: “The combination of greatly increased uptake of online shopping, and the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, mean that all delivery companies are experiencing exceptionally high volumes.

“Every single parcel and letter is important to us.

"Despite our best efforts and significant investment in extra resource, some customers may experience slightly longer delivery timescales than our usual service standards.

“This is due to the exceptionally high volumes we are seeing, exacerbated by the coronavirus-related measures we have put in place in local mail centres and delivery offices to keep our people and customers safe.

"In such cases, we always work hard to get back to providing our usual level of service as quickly as we can.”

Some affected residents across England have complained of not having had mail delivered for more than a month and fears have also arisen that elderly residents will not receive notifications of when a coronavirus vaccine is available to them.

The issue has prompted calls, including from MPs and the Communication Workers Union (CWU), for postal workers to be added to the priority list of people receiving coronavirus vaccinations.

On its website, Royal Mail advises people in the regions who have been left a “Something for you” card from the service to check its website to learn revised opening hours for when they can collect the item.

The advice says: “If we’ve not left a ‘Something for you card’, and you do not have alternative arrangements in place, we’re sorry that your mail will not be available for collection."

The opening hours of the Leeds City Delivery Office have changed to:

Monday: 8am to 10am

Tuesday: 8am to 10am

Wednesday: Closed

Thursday: 8am to 2pm, 4pm to 8pm

Friday: 8am to 12pm

Saturday: 8am to 2pm

Sunday: Closed

The full list of zones - comprising 27 in England and one in Northern Ireland - are:

Ashford (TN23-TN27)

Barnsley (S70, S71, S72 and S75)

Basildon (SS13-SS16)

Bow (E3)

Bury St Edmunds (IP28-IP33)

Chelmsford (CM1-CM3)

Christchurch (BH23)

Daventry (NN11)

Debden (IG7-IG10)

Enfield (EN1-EN3)

Grays (RM16-RM20)

Hampton (TW12)

Highbury (N5)

Hornsey (N8)

Horsham (RH12, RH13)

Ilford (IG1-IG6)

Leeds City (LS1-LS5)

Lewisham (SE13)

Magherafelt (BT45, BT46)

Margate (CT7-CT9)

Rugeley (WS15)

Somerton (TA11)

South Ockendon (RM15)

South Woodford (E18)

Upper Holloway (N7)

Wandsworth (SW18)

Wellington (TA21)

Widnes (WA8)