THE Royal Mail has written to neighbours on an Eldene street to apologise after discovering their post was going missing.

People living on Blackstone Avenue had mail, including bank statements, stolen and some were unaware until they received the letter.

One neighbour who did not wish to give his name told the Adver: “The whole street and Thorne Road around the corner just received this letter out of the blue.

“It was offering apologies to us for any inconvenience or distress caused by alleged thefts in this area and said that Royal Mail took thefts very seriously.

“After reading it, I remembered that I did not get a bank statement in September, which was unusual.

"I then contacted the bank to check that it had actually been sent and they said it had, but it never actually turned up .

“I thought no more about that until I received the letter. Other people told me their stuff went missing.

"My neighbour ordered concert tickets and a watch strap which never arrived, so he had to get new ones sent over - and those did arrive.

“I then heard that our old postie, who only turned up in the afternoons well after you should receive your post, got fed up with delivering the mail.

“They found a pile of stuff in the underpass between Liden and Eldene. It is a little concerning that this happened but I’m glad it’s all been sorted out now.”

The Adver approached the postal service to check whether the apology letters the neighbours had received were genuine and what exactly the apology was referring to.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Royal Mail has a zero tolerance approach to dishonesty and that stance is shared by the overwhelming majority of postmen and women, who are honest and hardworking and who do all they can to protect the mail and deliver it safely.

“It is a criminal offence to tamper with or delay the delivery of mail.

They warned: “Anyone caught doing so will face disciplinary measures and Royal Mail will always seek to prosecute the tiny minority of people who abuse their position of trust.

“We apologise to any customer whose mail has been affected by this incident.”