Martin Lewis has urged households nationwide to "bulk-buy" stamps ahead of a price hike this year.

The Royal Mail confirmed that prices would rise from April 2, giving customers just four weeks to buy stamps at the current rate of £1.25.

The price of a first-class stamp is set to increase by 8% while those looking to go second-class could pay up to 13% more.

Martin Lewis urges households to 'bulk-buy' stamps ahead of price rise

Discussing the change and what customers should do, the ITV Money Show host Martin Lewis said: "For years, every time stamps go up in price I've suggested people stock up and bulk-buy in advance, as provided the stamp doesn't have a price on it and instead just says the postage class, it's still valid after the hike."

According to Birmingham Live, he added: "This has been an effective tactic, as a first-class letter stamp is now £1.25, soon to be rising to £1.35 – in 2012 it was just 60p. So you may as well stock up now."

On Friday, Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at the Royal Mail, said: "We always consider price changes very carefully but we face a situation where letter volumes have reduced dramatically over recent years while costs have increased.

“It is no longer sustainable to maintain a network built for 20 billion letters when we are now only delivering seven billion. As a result of letter volume decline, our posties now have to walk more than three times as far to deliver the same number of letters as before, increasing the delivery costs per letter.”

Up-to-date prices for first and second-class stamps can be found on the Royal Mail website.

First-class stamps for letters are currently £1.25 with those wishing to use second-class stamps paying 75p.