RESIDENTS and businesses in High Wycombe are being delivered a first class Royal Mail service according to latest figures.

In an end of year report published last Monday, the number of first class letters reaching their destination in the HP postcode area rose to 94.6 per cent for the final quarter.

No other postcode area in the south east experienced such an improvement from the start of the year.

This marked a significant rise from the figure at the start of the year of 89.6 per cent.

The overall figure for the whole year now stands at 92.5 per cent which is the target for Royal Mail across the country.

Callum Rossie, delivery sector manager for the HP postcode area, told Midweek that the transition to a five-day week caused early teething problems.

He said: "We've really been coming together which is great. Staff in the area have worked hard to turn it around. We brought in a lot of changes and that is why the quarter one figures are lower."

Royal Mail's Eastern Territories Director Roger Baynes said: "These results are great news for our customers and reflect some of the best quality of service nationally for more than a decade.

"It is a credit to our hardworking postmen and women and they should be justifiably proud. We are not complacent. We know there is more to do, but we should also recognise the fantastic efforts of our people."