Royal Mail has apologised for the disruption to the postal service which has caused problems in Amersham and the surrounding areas.

Buckinghamshire Council leader, Martin Tett described the "months" of disruption as a "collapse in the local postal delivery service".

The Chesham & Amersham MP, Sarah Green, has since held a meeting with Royal Mail's Home Counties North service delivery manager.

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Ms Green told constituents that she was informed new staff have been hired and will be starting work over the next two weeks.

She posted on Twitter: "I was assured that recruitment efforts are already underway, with new staff members taking up their posts both this week and next.

"The Royal Mail are also looking to employ additional staff from agencies.

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"I hope that the positive impact of this strengthened workforce will be seen by constituents in the coming weeks.

"As a short-term measure, I have requested that the hours during which mail can be collected from the Amersham DO be extended.

"This is currently being explored and I will update you as soon as I hear more.

"I am also looking forward to visiting the Amersham Delivery Office next week to speak with staff and receive a further update on the situation."

Meanwhile, in a letter addressed to Mr Keith Williams, the Chairman of the Royal Mail, Cllr Tett said there has been a “completely unacceptable standard” of postal service.

He went on to say that there have been “numerous" complaints from residents going back over three months.

Part of the letter said: “Residents are fortunate if they receive one or at most two deliveries a week.

“Not only is delivery infrequent and on unpredictable days but the post itself is delayed for very protracted periods.”

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On January 7, Little Chalfont resident, Jane Peel said: "We had just one post-delivery in 3 weeks from around 13th December.

"I have twice been to the sorting office in Amersham, joining a long queue of other residents in the same position, hoping to pick up my post.

"On the first occasion before Christmas I was able to collect a few items. On the second I was told there was nothing for our address. 

"I have every sympathy with people and businesses suffering from absences as a result of Covid-19 but this is now getting ridiculous."

A spokesperson for Royal Mail told the Free Press that the delays have been due to resourcing issues and staff sickness.

The spokesperson said: “The vast majority of mail is delivered safely and on time. We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week.

"In Amersham, we have been experiencing some delays to service due to resourcing issues and sickness absence.

"We would like to apologise to customers for any inconvenience experienced.

"We have been working hard to get our levels of service back to normal as soon as possible and the situation is improving.

"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.”