The Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for Yeovil has raised concerns over the “ongoing problem” at Royal Mail which left residents with “no post for three weeks”.

Adam Dance, who is also councillor for South Petherton & Islemoor, said: "One of my team visited the queue at Yeovil sorting office at 9.45am [on December 13].

“45 people were waiting for between 30 and 40 minutes. The sorting office is only open from 8 to 10 and those who have not reached the counter by 10am would, we were told, be sent away.

“Those in the queue said that they had had no post for three weeks and that this was an ongoing problem since the summer.

“Most were there to receive letters they were waiting for, in particular notices of hospital appointments.

“We could see the limited number of staff were doing the best they could but this is not good enough for the people of Yeovil.

"I am writing to the chief executive of Royal Mail, as well as to the chairman and the Group CEO.

“At the same time, I am asking for a meeting with the manager of Yeovil Royal Mail to see what can be done in the short term.

“Immediate action should be prioritising getting post into the hands of residents by increasing the opening hours of the sorting office, and then ensuring that letters are given priority for delivery across Yeovil as a whole on at least a twice weekly delivery, with the expectation that a full delivery service will be up and running as soon as possible

"In the run-up to Christmas, it is appalling that despite the cost of postage Royal Mail is unable to fulfill its Universal Service Obligation, agreed earlier this year, which requires Royal Mail to deliver letters six days a week to 32 million UK addresses, including in Yeovil."

A spokesperson for the Royal Mail said: “Our teams are working extremely hard to ensure a consistent and reliable service to households in Yeovil this Christmas.

“The local delivery office can confirm the majority of routes are being delivered to as standard.

“Routes that do not receive their deliveries on the day they expect will be prioritised the following day.

“For guidance, the local operation has been impacted by two internal lifts being out of order and significant localised flooding, both of which have caused additional challenges during this busiest time of the year.

“To manage this and ensure the consistency of deliveries, we have added additional vehicle and staffing support to the Yeovil operation.

“Our customer service point is experiencing higher than usual visits which are in line with the higher volumes of items we expect at this time of the year.”