RESIDENTS did not have any post delivered for more than a week because of snowy weather.

There were no deliveries to the 1,400 homes on the Five Links estate, Laindon, since Friday, December 3, because letters and parcels weren’t getting to the Basildon sorting office.

Residents in Basildon finally got their post yesterday.

Rosalind Alleyne, of Gowers Chase, Laindon, said she was waiting for important letters from the hospital, as well as all her other post.

She said: “We have just had 20 pieces of post and he said he had another five sacks.

“We have had recorded delivery letters waiting for us. It’s my birthday today, so I was expecting birthday cards.

“I was also expecting letters from the hospital and bank statements.”

Mrs Alleyne, 64, said she understood the weather had made it difficult for deliveries, but other people had managed to deliver to her.

She added: “What really annoyed me was our paper girl hasn’t missed a day and the pizza advert man keeps coming round.

“We appreciate the difficulty of getting around, but when the dustmen managed we thought this was becoming a joke.

“My cousin lives in Yorkshire and it was a lot worse and the postman still collected and everyone received their Christmas cards.

“Why wasn’t the postman allowed on the estate?”

A spokeswoman from Royal Mail said mail wasn’t getting through to the Basildon office from other parts of the country and postmen had to make decisions based on the weather conditions. She said: “We apologise to any customers whose mail may have been delayed due to the bad weather, but all our postmen and women have been working hard to keep mail moving and are making deliveries to customers as quickly as possible.

“Postmen and women have to make a judgment as to where it is safe to deliver.

“If it is really not safe for them to do so, they can’t make that delivery. All mail for delivery in the Basildon area has now been delivered.”

She added residents wanting to contact the company about any more problems, can call 08457 740740.