Photos of Evri staff in Preston show parcels being sorted outside in the car park of the depot, raising concerns over the working conditions during rain and icy weather.

An employee who works on Red Scar Business Park, where the depot is located, claimed Evri workers loading parcels into their own cars in an overcrowded car park, and leaving parcels on the ground, is a daily occurrence.

The man who shared the photos, who asked to remain anonymous, is concerned over the working conditions for the workers, as it "seems like the staff are overworked and unable to deal with the amount of parcels arriving into the depot every day".

Evri said its drivers have always used their own vehicles to carry out deliveries, and while sorting normally happens indoors sometimes in the run up to Christmas it's necessary to do it outside.

He said: “This happens every morning, you can see it if you drive past the site.

"The car park is choc-a-bloc full and there’s parcels all over the floor.

"It’s not ideal circumstances especially at the moment when the ground’s icy and they do it in the rain too.

“First and foremost, it’s about the safety of the people and how they’re expected to manage the workload.

"Then what about the knock-on effect on the customer, because not a lot understand what’s happening with their parcels and how it gets from A to B.

“After seeing this happen daily, I wouldn’t want to use Evri and I would be very surprised to receive something in good condition.”

The man also added the car park is full of vehicles and people crowding the depot every morning, which causes concerns over the safety of the workers.

A spokesperson for Evri, which was ranked as the UK’s worst performing parcel company this year, said: “All of our sites are subject to rigorous health and safety processes and audits and the well being of our people is a top priority.

 “Parcels are sorted inside the delivery unit and when volumes are high during Christmas in some cases, they are loaded into their vehicles outside.”

Despite the man saying the loading is sorted outside in poor weather conditions, the spokesperson added that “there are alternative arrangements for bad weather.”

Another Evri depot in Lancashire has raised alarm bells for one Rossendale customer.

In a Facebook group dedicated to users who want to share their customer complaints and experiences, a woman said she has waited almost two weeks for her four-year-old son’s birthday present.

She visited the depot in Burnley Road East, Waterfoot, and said the conditions were “absolutely shocking” and parcels were just “sat there with no one available to help.”

One person commented on the Rossendale mother’s post saying: “They need to either employ more staff or not take on more work than they can handle. It isn't a good business model.”

A spokesperson for Evri noted that the company’s couriers are self-employed and deliver in their own vehicles - cars and small vans and “this has been the company’s business model for many years.”