Test results, Christmas cards, condolences - the residents left behind by postal delays

Residents in several Manchester post-codes have spoken of their worry and frustration after going weeks without receiving any post.

Hospital appointments, test results, Christmas cards and even letters of condolence are just some of the items that residents are waiting for, in wide-spread delays that Royal Mail say are down to staff shortages and sick leave.

The postal service updated their website on January 22 to confirm that two Greater Manchester delivery offices were experiencing issues. Heywood and Manchester South East encompasses OL10, M11, M12, M13 and M18.

READ MORE: Royal Mail announces 14 areas with postal delays including FOUR Greater Manchester postcodes

It comes as Royal Mail reported a 2.4% rise in revenue in the three months to the end of December, with revenue from parcels and letters rising by 3.2% and 1.4% respectively

Katherine Yates first became aware of the delays in the middle of January. She lives in Gorton (M18) and says her neighbours on a local Facebook group say they had not received any post since before Christmas, around December 20.

"Post has started to trickle through in the last day or so but we don't believe the deliveries are complete," she said. "People have only just received Christmas cards so it's been going on for a while."

She believes that affected residents "did not notice" an issue at first because of the Christmas period, where demand on postal services reaches its peak.

"People really started to notice around a week or so ago - people who had bank cards in the post or hospital appointments, or test results. So Royal Mail probably got away with it for a couple of weeks."

The delays have come at a tragic time for Katherine, who has recently suffered a personal loss.

"My