Royal Mail Christmas parcel chaos as ‘severe delays’ hit 21 offices – see the full list of affected areas

CHRISTMAS cards and presents could be delayed this year as Royal Mail services are disrupted in parts of the UK.

The postal service said the issues were due to Covid-related self isolation, high levels of sick days, resourcing problems and "other local factors".

In total, the number of delivery offices facing issues has hit 21 including Warrington, Willesden and Chelmsford.

The operator has 1,200 offices, so the majority of the country is experiencing a normal service.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Deliveries are operating as normal across most of the country.

"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 COVID-related self-isolation, 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 postal service was impacted by delays during the summer due to the "pingdemic", when workers had to self-isolate more frequently.

That caused disruption in 12 areas of the UK, and came months after delays in 28 locations following the third national lockdown in January.

When is the last date for Christmas post?'

Royal Mail is encouraging customers to send their Christmas post earlier than usual this year, as well as ordering online well in advance.

It said that will help postmen and women "deliver the bumper festive mailbag".

If you’re sending letters or packages to loved ones in the UK, here are the last dates to pop them in the post.