A local postman has criticised his Royal Mail bosses after claiming they have been told to prioritise parcel deliveries instead of first class mail.

The ‘postie’ who wished to remain anonymous, branded the move “disgusting”.

He claimed everything from Christmas cards to hospital appointment letters were not being delivered with the focus switched instead to parcels.

He states the mail is piling up at the Hyde delivery office, and that people are paying for a first class service that isn’t being delivered.

“All they care about is parcels,” stated the postman.

“People are being deceived and paying good money in good faith and it just isn’t happening. They’re getting away with it. Royal Mail are a law unto themselves.”

He added: “We’ve got customers saying they’ve been waiting for mail. One lady told us she had missed her hospital appointment by three days because we didn’t deliver it.

Hyde Delivery Office

“When you hear management say mail is irrelevant that was the final straw.” 

The Tameside Reporter contacted Royal Mail for a response and they said that every item of mail is important to them.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “The vast majority of mail and parcels are delivered safely and on time. 

“We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week. 

“In some areas of Tameside, we have been experiencing some delays to service due to sickness absences. 

“We have been working hard to get our levels of service back to normal as soon as possible and the situation is improving. 

“We apologise to customers for any inconvenience they may have experienced.”

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