AM I the only resident of Ledbury who is becoming increasingly frustrated with the late deliveries by the postal service? It was bad enough when letters started to arrive at mid-day instead of breakfast time or shortly after; but now they can appear as late as 4 o'clock in the afternoon, a noon delivery seems quite a luxury!

Under the "new arrangements" operating throughout the country, we were told the second post had been abolished and would be replaced by a far more certain and efficient first post.

The Post Office needs to be reminded that private residents had been without a second post for years so nothing altered there. What has changed, however, is the punctuality of the one post that we have left to us.

It now seems to be blithely assumed the only people requiring a delivery at the beginning of the day are those running businesses or professions. It evidently does not occur to the postal authorities (or indeed the government) that there are thousands of others who lead busy lives, have pressing commitments and schedules, and who are reliant on a speedy morning delivery. Letters and documents often need a swift response and to receive these at the latter end of the day when one may not be at home or it is too late for action, is an absurdity which defeats the whole point of the system.

When the revised delivery mode was first introduced, Ledbury seemed relatively unaffected. Now, however, it is in a steep decline; and for this resident at least, confidence in a reliable service is a thing of the past.

Suzette Hill, Orchard Lane,

Ledbury.