VITAL mail failed to be delivered across parts of Wrexham as freezing temperatures took its toll this weekend.

Royal Mail say it was not possible to make deliveries in some places as the treacherous conditions made it dangerous for staff.

Many residents from across the county were distraught that vital mail, as well as Christmas cards and internet gift orders, were not delivered for three days because of health and safety concerns.

Dennis Davies, of Marford, was very worried that a letter from Spire Yale Hospital concerning his wife’s operation at 4pm yesterday had not arrived by the morning of the procedure.

Mr Davies said: “That letter carried important information about how my wife should prepare for surgery, including how long before the operation she had to stop eating and drinking.

“We ended up ringing the hospital direct to find out what we needed to do.”

In Bangor-on-Dee, William Williams was waiting for legal documents regarding his aunt’s death and was very concerned about the delay as he had to process the documents by January.

“We haven’t had any deliveries since Thursday,” he said.

“They should have made alternative arrangements or at least contacted residents to let us know how we can collect.”

His wife has since collected the documents from the sorting office in Wrexham.

A spokesperson for Royal Mail claimed everything was being done to make sure post was delivered as quickly as possible but they re-iterated that the safety of their staff was a priority.

She said: “We are attempting all deliveries but in some places it is not possible.

“Information explaining what will happen to undelivered mail is available on the website and when people contact us by phone, but our workload does double at Christmas and the weather has been unprecedented. We have also seen a massive rise in online gift ordering which has made us much busier.”

Tony Baxter, Royal Mail operations director for Wales, said: “We apologise to those customers who are experiencing delays to their deliveries as a result of the severe weather.

“We have had postmen and women out on the streets for the last two Sundays in a row and they will be out – weather permitting and wherever possible – in the evenings this week, committed to deliver as many items as possible to our customers.”

The company confirmed that staff will be making extra deliveries every evening this week in a bid to clear the backlog.