Homes left without postal cover

Hundreds of houses in the Watton area have been left without postal coverage for nearly two weeks because of staff illness.Residents in Watton, Ashill, Carbrooke and Ovington have raised concerns about the erratic services, criticising Royal Mail bosses for “poor management”.

Hundreds of houses in the Watton area have been left without postal coverage for nearly two weeks because of staff illness.

Residents in Watton, Ashill, Carbrooke and Ovington have raised concerns about the erratic services, criticising Royal Mail bosses for “poor management”.

It is understood that there are 13 employees covering the patch, but following recent staff illness, there were up to five people on leave or on long-term sickness at one time.

A Watton resident, who did not wish to be named, said: “The new housing estate near the former RAF Watton site has not had post for days.”

“We haven't had any deliveries since before Easter and there are still disruptions.

“My understanding is that they (Royal Mail) are bringing workers from Ipswich every morning. They get them on taxis and bring them over here.

“That's not the right way to solve the problem. This is just poor management.

“Parcels have been piling up for almost a week and there was nobody to deliver them.

“Eventually someone cracked into it and they were delivered. The problem is not that there are people off sick. The problem is that they haven't organised back-up coverage.

“Also, they just wouldn't admit that there have been disruptions. We're still not receiving our post.”

Rodney Small, a resident from Ashill, has also been left without post since Monday, March 24.

He said: “There has been a complete blackout for nearly two weeks now.

“We didn't get any post on Monday, (March 24) and Tuesday (March 25). Then we received post the following two days. On Good Friday there was no post, but there should have been a delivery on Saturday.

“The week after Easter, again, we received nothing.

“This is very distressing, especially for pensioners who are waiting for their bills. If they (the bills) come too late, people could end up paying penalties.”

Gary Fitch, office manager for Watton Royal Mail, said the company was working to clear the backlog and insisted that deliveries resumed at the end of last week.

But he refused to make any comment on the disruptions experienced over the last two weeks.

In London, Sunita Chohan, speaking for Royal Mail, was not aware of the problems experienced by residents locally.

She said: “Royal Mail is not aware of any delivery issues in the area and deliveries have gone out on a daily basis.

“Any customers with concerns should contact our customer service number on 08457 740740.”