Royal Mail has issued an urgent and crucial warning to households across the United Kingdom, alerting residents in 121 specific postcodes to significant delivery delays. This widespread disruption stems from a combination of road network issues and processing problems affecting 38 depots nationwide.
Scope of the Disruption
The postal service confirmed that as of Friday, January 23, delays are impacting postcodes throughout England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. While Royal Mail's air network remains on schedule, setbacks in the road network have led to incorrect routing of some mail, including instances where post intended for Northern Ireland mistakenly ended up at the Scottish hub.
Affected Depots and Postcodes
Currently, 38 depots are experiencing disruptions, which is having a knock-on effect on surrounding areas. Key affected locations include the Birmingham Mail Centre, which failed to process and dispatch all mail on time, and depots such as Aberdare, Belfast East, Hull Central, and Sunderland. The full list of postcodes facing delays encompasses areas like CF44-45 in Aberdare, BT4-BT6 in Belfast East, and SR1-SR6 in Sunderland, among others.
Royal Mail's Response and Apology
In a statement, Royal Mail explained, "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." The company has committed to rotating deliveries to minimise delays for individual customers and providing targeted support to affected offices to restore service standards.
Royal Mail added, "We're sorry for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding." The firm routinely updates its website with the latest information on impacted locations, including details of depots and postcodes experiencing disruption.
List of Postcodes Experiencing Delays
- Aberdare DO (CF44, CF45)
- Ashington DO (NE22, NE62, NE63, NE64)
- Banbridge DO (BT32)
- Barry DO (CF62, CF63)
- Batley DO (WF5, WF15-WF17)
- Belfast East DO (BT4-BT6, BT16)
- Bridgend CF DO (CF31-CF33, CF35)
- Chichester DO (PO18-PO20)
- Deeside DO (CH5)
- Egremont DO (CA21-CA25, CA27)
- Glaisdale Parkway DO (NG7, NG8)
- Hull Central DO (HU1-HU3, HU5, HU9, HU12, HU19)
- Hyde DO (SK13, SK14, SK16)
- Johnstone DO (PA5, PA6, PA9, PA10, PA12)
- Leicester East DO (LE2, LE5-LE7)
- Lisburn DO (BT26-BT28)
- Mid Rhondda Ganol DO (CF39-CF40)
- Newcastle West DO (NE5, NE15)
- North Tyneside DO (NE25-NE30)
- Nuneaton DO (CV10-CV11, CV13)
- Orton Southgate DO (PE2, PE7-PE9)
- Pontefract DO (WF7, WF8, WF9, WF11)
- Ponteland DO (NE18-NE20)
- Pontyclun DO (CF72)
- Pontypridd DO (CF37, CF38, CF46)
- Prenton DO (CH43)
- Sandbach DO (CW11)
- Shepshed (LE12)
- Shrewsbury DO (SY1-SY5)
- Sleaford DO (NG34)
- Spennymoor DO (DL16-DL17)
- Sunderland DO (SR1-SR6, SR9)
- Swan House DO (LE1, LE3, LE7-LE9, LE19, LE95)
- Swindon DO (SN1-SN3, SN6, SN25-SN26, SN38, SN99)
- Tarporley DO (CW6)
- Towcester SUDO (NN12)
- Uddingston DO (G71)
- Waterlooville DO (PO7-PO8)
Residents in these areas are advised that their post may arrive later than expected, and Royal Mail is working to address the challenges to return to its normal high service standards as quickly as possible.
