THE Royal Mail is again in the firing line today after it was revealed that postal chaos in Blackburn has left residents waiting more than a week for their letters.

Unions today blamed the sorting office delays on an increased workload following the Royal Mail's decision to axe the second post - and said machinery problems, sickness, staff shortages and the Bank Holiday weekend had made them worse.

East Lancashire Royal Mail union representatives and managers were due to discuss the situation at one of their regular meetings in Preston today.

Nationally, Royal Mail ended second deliveries at the end of March to save costs, after losing £1million a day last year. Second deliveries dealt with just four per cent of all mail, yet accounted for 20 per cent of costs. It was obvious that changes needed to be made.

But surely these should not be at the expense of those who matter most - the customers.

Royal Mail bosses today assure us that the problems are being resolved. But weeks after backlogs first began appearing in Burnley, problems still exist.

We may not have a second post any longer - but we are in danger of having a second class service.