Royal Mail delivery disruption hits 20 UK postcodes this weekend

Royal Mail has warned of delivery delays affecting certain UK postcodes this weekend. The postal service typically delivers letters to homes and businesses six days a week, with parcels also being delivered on Sundays.

But, disruption has hit several delivery offices this weekend. As of Saturday, May 9, hold-ups are affecting 20 postcode areas including Kidderminster, New Ferry and Tweedale. Royal Mail said: “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. We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.”

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

It stated: “We deliver and collect your mail on most days of the year, including Saturdays. However, we don’t usually deliver or collect on public or local holidays.”

The delays come as Royal Mail pledged to achieve its letter delivery targets by May 2027 as part of a £500 million transformation plan. The firm has faced mounting criticism over late deliveries, and was even slapped with a fine.

Royal Mail was hit with a £21 million penalty by Ofcom in October for failing to meet targets after delivering just 77% of First Class post and 92.5% of Second Class post on time in 2024-25.

Last month, Ofcom reduced the delivery targets for First Class post to arrive the next day from 93% to 90%, and Second Class to arrive within three days from 98.5% to 95%.

Royal Mail said it will boost First Class Next Day delivery to around 85% within nine months, before hitting the 90% target set by regulator Ofcom within a year.

The company also pledged to deliver 93% of Second Class letters within three days over the course of nine months, and to reach the 95% target by May next year.