THE Royal Mail has apologised for mail not being delivered to certain areas of the community over December. 

In a local community group on social media related to the Croftlands area of Ulverston, a woman asked why there has been 'virtually no post delivery since early December.' 

Other people said that they have received no post 'at all until December 15' and that when they finally got the post they saw first-class stamps dates for late November and early December. 

Some said that they had been receiving post as normal, some said that they have been receiving parcels but no letters, and a few said that they had been having similar issues in other parts of Ulverston and out in Swarthmoor. 

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: "While the vast majority of mail is delivered safely and on time, we are very sorry for the delays that some customers have reported locally. This has partly been caused by a high level of staff absence as well as the impact of the ongoing strike action by the Communication Workers Union (CWU).  

"When any particular delivery route has experienced delays, we have rotated deliveries to try and minimise the impact on customers, which is what we have done in Ulverston. Anyone who has concerns over the delivery of their mail should contact the Royal Mail customer service team on 03457 740 740 or via the Royal Mail website www.royalmail.com.”

READ MORE: Community shows 'solidarity' with striking Royal Mail postal workers

The CWU went on strike just before Christmas, where there was an agreement that letters would not be delivered but some parcels were still dispatched. 

It accused Royal Mail of not accepting an offer to suspend strikes until January 16. CWU general secretary Dave Ward said: “For Royal Mail Group to reject our offer just hours after receiving it demonstrates that they were never serious about saving Christmas for customers and businesses." The CWU put in a pay offer of up to 9 per cent. 

Mr Ward said that postal workers wanted to continue work as normal: "Our message to the public and businesses is that postal workers do not want to be here."