Royal Mail has reduced its post collection times in a Buckinghamshire village to cut costs. 

A Chesham Bois resident, who asked not to be named, said the collection time of his local Royal Mail box on Bois Lane was changed, leaving residents with only one collection per day at 9am instead of a second 5.30pm pick-up.

This means that to get next-day delivery for first-class letters, senders in the area need to drop off their letter at the Amersham delivery office.

He said: “I found that, without any warning or advice, the last (only) collection on weekdays was now 9 am. In other words, without walking nearly a mile to the [Amersham] sorting office, it is now impossible to achieve a same day collection.

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“Basically, it means that we can no longer post a letter, even first class, and expect it to arrive next day.”

He said the delivery time had also changed on the post box outside Amersham Museum in the Old Town.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “The postboxes in Chesham Bois changed to a collection time of 9am last week so that postmen and women can pick up the mail as part of their daily delivery rounds. This has been driven by a significant decline in letter volumes which means some postboxes no longer cover their costs.

“The changes mean Royal Mail does not need to take steps to decommission uneconomical postboxes. A notice of the changes was displayed on the postboxes for more than a month. A later collection time of 6.15pm is made from the postbox at Amersham Delivery Office.”