Norfolk villagers fury as ‘postal crisis’ sees mail arriving weeks later than it should

Residents in a Norfolk village say they are facing a “postal crisis” with their mail turning up weeks late. People in Poringland claim that since July, their postal service has become more inconsistent, with mail often arriving late.

This has meant that residents have missed out on important things such as hospital appointments and medication. Local businesses have also said that they are suffering too. Royal Mail has apologised for “occasional” delays which they say are due to staff numbers in the area being cut from six to five.

The village has also grown significantly in recent years, with many new homes being built in the area. Fed up locals have told the BBC that the disruption is affecting their lives and local businesses.

Helen Franklin, 63, said the delays had caused her elderly father to miss a hospital appointment because a notification had arrived after it was due to be held. She also said medication she had ordered on September 1 had still not arrived three weeks later – and that the Royal Mail had told her delays were due to “restructuring the service”.

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Sally Green, 40, who runs an online jewellery business in the village called Sweethearts and Darlings, said the delays were affecting her business.

She said: “I’m having to order stock way in advance and hope it will eventually arrive. As a business that posts every day, I’m finding lots of areas in the UK where customers are just not receiving their items within the estimated delivery time that Royal Mail websites are giving. I’m left with many disgruntled customers who blame me for the delay.”

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “Improving our level of service is our top priority and we are committed to restoring our service levels to where our customers expect them to be. While on occasion there are delays, mail is being delivered daily across Norfolk.”

A Royal Mail worker, who wished to remain anonymous, said rounds affecting other villages including Alpington and Yelverton were also being compressed.