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A Royal Mail staffing crisis has left residents queuing for hours to get their essential deliveries after waiting for over a month for their post.
Huge lines formed outside Bridgwater’s post office in Somerset as locals attempted to get their mail.
Residents claim they were left unable to get their essential prescriptions, documents, bank statements, and credit cards for up to six weeks.
Royal Mail has said staff sickness caused the delays at the Friarn Street delivery office.
In an attempt to resolve the delays, residents missing post have been given two-hour time slots between 8am to 10am and 4pm to 6pm during which they can pick up their post.
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Despite the time slots, residents have said the queues are ‘horrendous’, with one woman saying she’d gone several times to get her prescription.
Support worker Tina Hucker, 56, spent her day off waiting in line to find out if her prescription medications were being held at the depot.
She said: ‘As things have happened now, I’ve come here several times and the queues have been horrendous.
‘I’m coming back to give it a last go, or I’m going to have to order more meds again, but I don’t know if they’ll turn up as they normally do because of this issue.’
Tina didn’t want to ‘over-order’ medication but she’s unsure if the ones currently at the depot will ever arrive.
Even if she attempts to get a fresh prescription, the doctor may not approve it, or it could still wind up stuck at the depot just like the first batch.
‘I can’t remember the last time I got post – months. I’ve had to park over the other side of town to wait in the queue,’ she said.
‘I’ve never seen this before. I don’t know how long it’s going to be, or if I’ll get in before six o’clock. Luckily it’s my day off today, so I’m able to come and wait here.’
Jerry Lomax, a local resident who is planning on going on holiday next week, said he has been waiting on a credit card for over a fortnight.
‘They keep telling me I need to activate it, otherwise they’re going to null and void it,’ he said. ‘How long am I going to have to wait?’
He’s only able to queue in the evening because of work commitments and with his shift ending at 5pm, he’s unsure if he gets his card before his holiday.
‘If I didn’t have important documents, I’d probably let it go, but it’s stuff I need,’ Jerry added.
Partners Kieron and Shannon expressed concern over elderly and disabled residents, who may be unable to wait in long queues by a busy road.
Kieron said: ‘It’s quite an inconvenience. The queue the other day was all the way down the road – waiting for hours to pick up our post.
‘It’s time-consuming – people have other things to do. We’ve had to do it a couple of times now.
‘I can imagine for people with disabilities, it’s not easy. It’s not exactly safe for us just sat on the road – it’s not ideal.’
Shannon added: ‘I got an email from Royal Mail saying I need to come and collect my parcel – they didn’t even try and deliver it. They’re not even attempting to post it.
‘I had letters delivered three days ago – about ten letters – but not for a couple of weeks before that.’
Another resident, Simon Reynolds, said he last received a letter six weeks ago, and claimed his local postman had told him that several extra rounds had been added to his route.
He said: ‘We’re getting no post, and a lot of this is strange. Some people are saying it’s a couple of hours they’ve been here for.
‘It is an inconvenience – you expect your mail to come to your house, that’s the service.’
A Royal Mail spokesperson said short-term staff sickness had affected deliveries in parts of Bridgwater.
They said: ‘We know how important it is that customers receive their mail when expected and take concerns about deliveries very seriously.
‘Short-term sickness has affected deliveries in parts of Bridgwater. Additional staffing is now in place and our posties are working to clear any outstanding mail as quickly as possible.
‘We expect services in the affected areas to return to normal over the coming week.’
Until normal service resumes, it appears locals will have to continue queuing in hopes that they can get their hands on their post.
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