Royal Mail issues major delivery delay to 142 UK postcodes this Christmas – full list of areas affected

THE Royal Mail has issued a major delivery warning for 142 postcodes this Christmas.

Some local offices are experiencing problems due to “issues including high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors”.

Royal Mail said it aims to deliver six days a week but admitted in several hotspots, this will “temporarily not be possible”.

It warned that households in the affected areas may see delays to letters and parcels during one of the busiest periods of the year.

The company said delivery rounds will be rotated to “minimise delay”, while extra support has been drafted in to help the worst-hit offices cope with mounting Christmas volumes.

A full list published on the Royal Mail website today shows dozens of postcodes impacted, covering all corners of the UK, stretching from the likes of Aberdare in Scotland and Derry in Northern Ireland and down to Plymouth on England’s southern coast.

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Areas including Brixton, Bristol East and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands are all experiencing disruption.

Several Scottish depots have also been added to the disrupted list alongside multiple offices across Northern Ireland, such as Belfast West.

Places such as Barry in Wales have also been suffering problems.

Royal Mail apologised for the disruption, saying: “We’re sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. We will regularly update customers on the offices most impacted.”

The warning comes after a turbulent few months for the postal service as it battles mounting pressure from regulators and a surge in seasonal demand.

Royal Mail’s hefty fine for failing to meet delivery targets

The post service was issued a £21 million fine by Ofcom last month for missing its delivery targets for the financial year.

The postal service only delivered 77 per cent of first-class mail and 92.5 per cent of second-class mail on time in the 2024/25 financial year.

Both of these percentages fell well short of its 93% and 98.5% targets.

The communications watchdog has now said Royal Mail must urgently deliver a credible improvement plan or the fines are likely to continue.

It’s the third time Royal Mail has been found in breach of its regulatory obligations in recent years.

The postal service was fined £5.6million in November 2023 and £10.5million in December 2024.

Ian Strawhorne, director of enforcement at Ofcom, said: “Millions of important letters are arriving late, and people aren’t getting what they pay for when they buy a stamp.

“These persistent failures are unacceptable, and customers expect and deserve better.”

Ofcom said the fine reflected the “harm suffered by customers” because of Royal Mail’s poor service.

The fine followed Royal Mail’s attempt to huge shake-up its service and open thousands of shops across the UK for the first time.

Around 8,000 Collect+ convenience stores will be rebranded to Royal Mail shops.

Full list of affected postcodes

Check to see if your area is affected

• Aberdare DO (CF44 and CF45)
• Aboyne SUDO (AB34)
• Airdrie DO (ML6)
• Altens DO (AB10, AB11, AB12, AB35)
• Ashington DO (NE22, NE62, NE63, NE64)
• Ashton Under Lyne DO (OL5, OL6 and OL7)
• Barry DO (CF62, CF63)
• Batley DO (WF5, WF15, WF16, WF17)
• Belfast West DO (BT10, BT11, BT12, BT17)
• Bingham DO (NG12, NG13)
• Brentwood DO (CM13, CM14 and CM15)
• Bristol East DO (BS5)
• Brixton DO (SW2)
• Calderway DO (WF12, WF13, WF14)
• Canvey Island DO (SS8)
• Clevedon DO (BS21, BS49)
• Congleton DO (CW4, CW12)
• Dundee East DO (DD4, DD5, DD7)
• Dunstable DO (LU5, LU6)
• Dyce DO (AB21)
• Eastwood DO (NG16)
• Egremont DO (CA21, CA22, CA23, CA24, CA25 and CA27)
• Erskine DO (PA7, PA8)
• Glenrothes DO (KY6, KY7)
• Gloucester North DO (GL3, GL4)
• Gravesend Rural DO (DA12, DA13)
• Grimsby DO (DN31-DN37)
• Hyde DO (SK13, SK14, SK16)
• Inverclyde DO (PA14-PA19)
• Inverurie DO (AB51, AB52)
• Johnstone DO (PA5, PA6, PA9, PA10, PA12)
• Kettering DO (NN14-NN16)
• Kidsgrove DO (ST7)
• Kingswood DO (BS15 and BS30)
• Letchworth DO (SG6, SG7, SG15 and SG16)
• Lichfield DO (WS7, WS13, WS14)
• Lisburn DO (BT26, BT27, BT28)
• Londonderry DO (BT47 and BT48)
• North Tyneside DO (NE25-NE30)
• Northfield DO (B31)
• Northwich DO (CW8-CW9)
• Nottingham South DO (NG2, NG12)
• Plymouth North DO (PL2 and PL3)
• Plympton DO (PL7)
• Pontefract DO (WF7, WF8, WF9, WF11)
• Prescot DO (L34, L35)
• Renfrew DO (PA4)
• Seaham DO (SR7)
• Sleaford DO (NG34)
• St Helens DO (WA9, WA10, WA11)
• Stalybridge SUDO (SK15)
• Thornbury DO (BS35)
• Tipton DO (DY4)
• Uddingston DO (G71)
• Warrington DO (WA1, WA2, WA4, WA5, WA55)
• Wellington DO (TA21)
• Westhill DO (AB13, AB14, AB32)
• Whitehaven DO (CA18-CA20, CA26, CA28)
• Whitwood DO (WF6, WF10)
• Wigan DO (WN1-WN6)
• Wolverhampton NE DO (WV11 and WV12)