Royal Mail warning as 151 postcodes hit by major delivery delay just days before Christmas – full list of areas affected

ROYAL Mail has issued an awkward alert for anybody looking forward to opening their Christmas keepsakes in time for the big day.

Disruption to deliveries in dozens of postcodes could result in your loved ones’ cards and gifts being delayed.

Royal Mail has revealed some local offices are struggling because of staff shortages due to illness and other local logistical issues.

Delivery rounds are set to be rotated to reduce backlogs, with extra support sent to the worst-hit offices.

The update follows a £21 million fine issued by Ofcom in November after Royal Mail failed to meet its targets for 2024/25, with the service only delivering 77 per cent of first-class and 92.5 per cent of second-class mail on-time, well below its targets of 93 per cent and 98.5 per cent.

It’s the third year in a row the company has breached its regulatory obligations, with previous fines of £5.6 million in 2023 and £10.5 million in 2024.

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Ofcom has warned that further fines could follow unless Royal Mail submits a plausible improvement plan, with its Director of Enforcement Ian Strawhorne saying customers “aren’t getting what they paid for” and “deserve better”.

Royal Mail‘s website explains: “We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week.

“In a small number of local offices, this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing, or other local factors.

“In those cases, we will rotate deliveries to minimise the delay to individual customers.”

The company added: “We’re sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

“We will regularly update customers on the offices most impacted.”

A list on the Royal Mail website shows the impacted postcodes span the length and breadth of the UK, from Dundee in Scotland to Derry in Northern Ireland and Callington in Cornwall.

The full list of affected postcodes is as follows:

• Aboyne SUDO (AB34)
• Altens DO (AB10, AB11, AB12 and AB35)
• Ashington DO (NE22, NE62, NE63 and NE64)
• Barry DO (CF62 and CF63)
• Belfast West DO (BT10, BT11, BT12 and BT17)
• Bingham DO (NG12 and NG13)
• Bristol East DO (BS5)
• Brixton DO (SW2)
• Callington DO (PL17 and PL18)
• Canvey Island DO (SS8)
• Clevedon DO (BS21 and BS49)
• Dundee East DO (DD4, DD5 and DD7)
• Dunstable DO (LU5 and LU6)
• Dursley DO (GL11, GL12 and GL13)
• Dyce DO (AB21)
• Egremont DO (CA21, CA22, CA23, CA24, CA25 and CA27)
• Erskine DO (PA7 and PA8)
• Glasgow G52 DO (G52 and G53)
• Glenrothes DO (KY6 and KY7)
• Gloucester North DO (GL3 and GL4)
• Inverclyde DO (PA14, PA15, PA16, PA17, PA18 and PA19)
• Johnstone DO (PA5, PA6, PA9, PA10 and PA12)
• Kettering DO (NN14, NN15 and NN16)
• Kingswood DO (BS15 and BS30)
• Lichfield DO (WS7, WS13 and WS14)
• Lisburn DO (BT26, BT27 and BT28)
• Londonderry DO (BT47 and BT48)
• Medway Valley DO (ME6, ME18, ME19 and ME20)
• Northfield DO (B31)
• Northwich DO (CW8 and CW9)
• Nottingham South DO (NG2 and NG12)
• Paisley DO (PA1, PA2 and PA3)
• Plympton DO (PL7)
• Pontefract DO (WF7, WF8, WF9 and WF11)
• Renfrew DO (PA4)
• Seaham DO (SR7)
• Sleaford DO (NG34)
• St Helens DO (WA9, WA10 and WA11)
• Stalybridge SUDO (SK15)
• Thornbury DO (BS35)
• Tipton DO (DY4)
• Warrington DO (WA1, WA2, WA4, WA5 and WA55)
• Wellington DO (TA21)
• Westhill DO (AB13, AB14 and AB32)
• Whitehaven DO (CA18, CA19, CA20, CA26 and CA28)
• Whitwood DO (WF6 and WF10)
• Wigan DO (WN1, WN2, WN3, WN4, WN5 and WN6)