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After the attack, which is believed to have taken place on December 6th, Royal Mail suspended deliveries to houses in Heath Grove to “ensure the safety of delivery staff” – much to the dismay of local residents.
Residents of more than 12 homes claim Royal Mail are continuing to deliver parcels on Heath Grove, just not letters. It has come to light that the dogs attacked a delivery driver from another delivery company, not Royal Mail.
Jim Speed (73), who lives on Heath Grove, has labelled the suspension in the run-up to Christmas as “ludicrous”. He said he’s not had any letters delivered to his house since December 6th and hasn’t even been given the option to travel to his local sorting office to collect the post, which apparently is “piled high”.
He explained: “I think that it is farcical that my usual postman is still coming onto the street where I live, but just to deliver parcels. At any time, but especially in the run up to Christmas and New Year, the unannounced withdrawal of letter post, without an alternative to receiving mail, is nothing short of criminal. Apart from the usual Christmas cards, which I have not received, there is the other very important mail, that no doubt includes official documents.
“The whole of Heath Grove deliveries have been suspended. A letter should have been sent to every resident notifying us of the ban, but sadly this has not happened. I was told by someone that all the mail for Heath Grove was being held back at Morecambe sorting office and was piled high! I was also told that parcel deliveries were allowed to continue as the delivery driver has the protection of the van, where a foot postman has no protection. It’s absolutely ridiculous. How long is the suspension going to last and when are we eventually going to receive our post?!
The ban has been brought to the attention of county councillor for Morecambe and Lunesdale Margaret Pattison. She said: “My main concern is that the residents seemed to have been going round in a circle of what information they have been given by Royal Mail. It is very upsetting to know that they have not received any mail since December 6th as there could be hospital appointments/ health results/ tax issues etc anything that could be missed leading to more stress for the residents of Heath Grove in the future. It is very unfortunate that a delivery man was attacked by dogs, but there must be a way around keeping delivery going in a safe way for the members of Royal Mail staff to the rest of the houses on Heath Grove or maybe a date given so the residents could at least get a chance to pick their post from their local Post Office?”
Responding, a Royal Mail spokesman said: “Royal Mail can confirm that there is a suspension of delivery in place in Heath Grove, Heysham, to ensure the safety of delivery staff following reports of a dog attack on December 6th.
“Those affected have been notified of the suspension and we are awaiting a response from the owners to confirm what actions they have put in place to prevent the dogs getting loose in future.
“Our first priority as an employer is to ensure the welfare and safety of our people who provide a valuable service to our customers. Suspending deliveries is often a last resort, as we recognise the vast majority of dog owners are very responsible and keep their pets under control.”
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