ROYAL Mail is preparing to put on Sunday deliveries as it battles with a backlog of post.
Details of the additional services for Crewe and Congleton have not been released, but they could start as early as tomorrow.
The delays in receiving post in South Cheshire follow the closure of the Crewe delivery office last year and the transfer of operations to Warrington.
Union leaders blame this for the backlog, while Royal Mail admits the problems are down to "changes to local operations".
Steve Leach, Royal Mail's North West regional operations director, said: "I would like to apologise to customers who have experienced delays in some mail deliveries in the Crewe area.
"Management and staff are working hard to improve deliveries in the area.
"Special measures are being implemented including using 25 volunteer managers to help sort mail for delivery and making additional deliveries on Sundays.
"We apologise again and wish to assure our customers these issues will be addressed as soon as possible."
Figures released in December showed residents and businesses were suffering the second-worst postal service in mainland Britain.
Statistics showed posties in the CW area delivered 88.9 per cent of first-class mail on time between June 7 and September 5.
It meant only residents in Wigan had a worse postal service across the 121 main postcodes in England, Scotland, and Wales.
Politicians and business leaders blamed the poor CW performance on the closure of the Crewe's sorting office on August 16.
Work from the Weston Road depot was transferred to Warrington, along with 600 jobs, after an 18-month fight to keep the Crewe centre open failed.
Talking about the current backlog, Carl Webb, North West secretary for the Communication Workers Union, said: "The closure of the Crewe centre was just a step too far.
"The decision wasn't service driven, it was an asset-cutting exercise.
"We believe they are thinning the business out to make it more attractive to a buyer, but anyone who thinks privatisation will lead to a better service is mistaken.
"There is no doubt about it – the closure has affected service levels and it would seem the Warrington mail centre is struggling."
And Paul Dugdale, Crewe area delivery representative for the union, said: "We haven't been told about Sunday deliveries yet, but that's not to say they won't happen.
"There is a backlog all over the North West, and the closure of the Crewe office and the transfer of work to Warrington certainly hasn't helped."
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