Swindon street ‘stops receiving mail’ after postman retires

None of the dozens of residents on Bideford Close in Park North have had envelopes dropped through their letterbox or deliveries to their doorsteps following the retirement of their local postie, who did his last round after 25 years of service on Tuesday, August 26.

People living on that street fear that the medication, important legal and government documents, and other planned arrivals they are expecting may have been lost in the post during the change of staff.

When contacting the local Royal Mail depot in Dorcan, they were told that all of the recent mail for that area has already been sent out and there is nothing else awaiting delivery.

One concerned citizen, who did not wish to be identified, told the Adver: “It’s very strange.

“One or two homes not getting mail for nine days may be normal, but there’s no way an entire street has had no mail since the bank holiday.

“The only person who has received anything had a special recorded delivery; there’s been no normal mail at all, even though people are expecting it.

“Those who ask Royal Mail about it are told different things: the rack is empty or everything’s already gone out, and we’re getting worried.

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“The longer it goes on, the more you hear from people on other streets who have had the same problem, it could be the entire route off Kingswood that our old postman used to do.”

Another resident added: “I’ve not had post for two weeks, there has to be a reason – where is it?”

Others on the street say they were not expecting any mail and had not noticed the long gap between deliveries.

The Adver understands that at the moment, due to resourcing challenges, mail is delivered at least every other day to Bideford Close when there is mail to deliver, which was also the case before the postman retired.

Letter volumes have declined significantly in recent years, and many households no longer receive post every day, which can cause concern for customers who were used to more frequent deliveries.    

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Post is being delivered to addresses on Bideford Close at least every other day where there is mail to deliver.

“A new starter is currently being trained to cover this route going forward.”