Delivery chaos as bees nesting in Royal Mail office cause roof to ‘cave in’

A Royal Mail delivery office in Andover has been forced to close due to a beehive in the building that has also led to a leak in the roof which is starting to cave in

A Royal Mail delivery office has been forced to close due to a nest of bees – leading to chaos for postal services.

Local residents have been unable to collect parcels from a customer service point due to the beehive in Andover, as Royal Mail struggles to find a contractor to remove it.

The bees are not only a danger due to their stinging, as the nest has also caused the roof of the office to leak and cave in.

Locals have now been complaining of disruption for the past 30 days to their Royal Mail service.

Royal Mail first claimed the delays were down to Covid, but have now said the Bridge Street delivery centre is closed due to a leak.

A notice outside the office states that honeybees need to be removed from a cavity which structural engineers are looking to fix.

A Facebook group of Royal Mail staff called “Spotted in Andover” has said that the bees are to blame.

It has also reached out to anyone that could help to remove the bees.

It states: “This is a post begging for help. As most of you know we can’t open the CSP due to a leak in the roof and it caving in.

“This is due to a beehive (we think honeybees) but we can’t get anybody out to come and remove the nest.

“Until the nest is removed our repair team can’t start work which will result in delays to the water leak/roof repair and CSP reopening, which is what we really need so you can collect parcels etc.

“Please if anybody can help it would be a massive help to us and in turn to the people of Andover.”

The call for help from the public has left some people bemused leading to some stinging replies.

One person commented: “Surely the Royal Mail has the ability to contract the right people for pest control and maintenance rather than asking Facebook.”

Another person asked: “Does Royal Mail not have a disaster recovery plan? Or whatever the current name of such a project is.

“All businesses should have it in the event of an evacuation, due to a gas leak/flood etc. Even like renting an empty shop, village hall, portacabin?

“I think your effort to try and resolve it yourself is great, but the contingency planning for such events should be at a much higher level. Royal Mail are lucky if they have staff like you trying to resolve problems that are hitting the community.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson told the Andover Advertiser: “A small section of the roof at the Andover Delivery Office collapsed following water leakage caused by a bees nest.

“No one was injured in the incident. The safety of our colleagues is our number one priority at Royal Mail. Our people were asked to leave the office while our Health & Safety and Property teams investigated.

“We have contacted a beekeeper to safely remove the bees. We apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused. Anyone with concerns about their mail can contact our Customer Services team or request a redelivery of their parcel online.”