CUSTOMERS think they get a first-class postal service, according to a new poll which puts the Royal Mail at the top of a 1996 league of public services.

Eighty one per cent of people nationally are satisfied with the speed of postal deliveries, says a National Consumer Council survey.

In the North, the figure was 1pc higher, while Southerners are less satisfied at 73pc.

Bottom of the table was terrestrial broadcasting, despite satisfaction improving significantly (from 32pc to 52pc).

Northern telly addicts gave BBC, ITV and Channel 4 a 51pc satisfaction rating, while Southerners were happier at 58pc.

Satellite and cable TV programmes, included for the first time this year, achieved a 72pc satisfaction rate nationally.

Seventy three per cent of Northerners were satisfied, but those in the South were less pleased at 70pc.

The report shows consumer satisfaction with public services has risen slightly since 1990 - with the exception of water and gas, which come in for customer criticism.

Water showed the biggest North/South divide with only 60pc satisfied in the drought-hit North compared to 75pc in the South, against a national 69pc.

Gas services showed the steepest fall from 82pc to 72pc, with customers feeling that care had deteriorated significantly.

This is hardly surprising, says the report, after Gas Consumer Council reports of a growth in customer complaints and British Gas's withdrawal from the Charter Mark.

Northern figures came out at 74pc satisfied compared to the South's score of 66pc.

Eighty one per cent of electricity customers said they were satisfied, though this may have been influenced by the £50 rebate many customers received on their previous quarterly bill, says the report.

BT fared well with a four per cent rise in satisfaction to 76pc, but 26pct felt the cost of calls unreasonable

Coach travel came out on top for public transport with overall satisfaction at 86pc - 89pc in the North and only 78pc in the South.

Just 59pc of passengers felt rail services were satisfactory. Northerners gave rail a 64pc score, while in the South they were even less satisfied at 52pc.

Bus services scored 71pc nationally, 75 pc in the North and only 58pc in the South.

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