Post collections hit by IT glitch

A bar code system registers when a box has been emptied

A computer failure led to a backlog in letters being collected from some post boxes in Bristol, the Royal Mail said.

Software brought in last week as part of a major overhaul in the city's collection routes developed a glitch.

It meant a handful of boxes, which use a barcode system to register when they have been emptied, were missed.

Residents complained that some were so full that mail could be extracted by hand. A hotline has been set up for the reporting of problems: 0117 9022372.

Some people claimed they had tried to alert the Royal Mail to the problem for several days.

Brentry resident Roy Setter told the BBC: "The letters were falling out of the box, you could put your hand in and take them out.

"It's disgusting, I know people who've had cheques in this post box for the last eight days.

Apology

"Royal Mail had been notified of this by myself for three days and nothing was done about it."

But mail centre manager Gwyn Williams said: "There's been a steady reduction in problems as we've become aware of issues.

"I wouldn't claim that everything in the garden is rosy yet, we do have some isolated problems and are working hard to resolve those."

The old collection route, devised 10 years ago, was revised because it was deemed to be out of date.

Mr Williams added: "I apologise to every customer. There are 3,800 collection points in Bristol and a very small number have been affected, but that's not to minimise the disruption caused to customers."