A FORMER postie was asked to collect his own parcel and 12 undelivered letters after staff shortages left a mail mounting up in a stock room.

One letter was for a hospital appointment, which was missed due to the undelivered post.

Barry Jones had ordered a part to fix some electrics online with next day delivery.

But when his parcel did not arrive, he was told it had not yet reached the Harwich Royal Mail office.

He waited, but was told the next day there was no-one available to deliver it.

Barry, who was a postman at the Houses of Parliament for 24 years, said: “One guy said it was all clear there but someone in the background said it was all in the sorting office.

“I was asking when it would be delivered, but they said they were short of staff, so could I collect it.

“Not only did I get my parcel, but also a bunch of letters, some of which were out of date.”

Barry, of Keynes Way, Dovercourt, added: “It’s not good enough.

“My wife missed an appointment for the hospital because she didn’t get the letter.

“I approached a postman on the street and asked him, he said it’s been bad down there.

“It means no-one on this delivery route would have got their mail either.”

Royal Mail spokesman Henry Perry apologised for the delay.

He said: “We would like to apologise to any customers in parts of Harwich who may not recently have received the first class service we aim to provide to all our customers.

“This has been due to temporary staff shortages in the office.

“We are working very hard to resolve the issue as quickly as we possibly can, including recruiting new staff.

“We are committed to delivering a high quality of service to all our customers in Harwich and our focus is to restore our service to the high standards our customers would normally receive.”

Mr Perry added for specific inquiries, customers should contact Royal Mail via its website which is at royalmail/contactus.

Alternatively, customers can ring 03457 740 740.