There is currently “chaos” at Watford’s Royal Mail sorting office, residents have claimed, with post disruption potentially set to last months.

The service across Watford and surrounding areas has recently been hampered by staff shortages and sickness, according to the company.

People living in Canterbury Road near the town centre have reported a lack of post since early July, and hit out at Royal Mail for failing to tell them what is going on.

Myles Sinclair, 68, said: “It has been a nightmare, we haven’t had any post despite deliveries being posted weeks ago from the original senders.

"We have had one delivery today and that was this morning around 10am with a large amount of post arriving, but that is the first in around three weeks.”

He said the road has been dealing with low postal rates for a while, adding: “We have not had deliveries six days a week like Royal Mail is stating that they aim to do for a long time."

Some locals claimed to still be waiting for medical letters, birthday cards and lost bank cards. 

Sarah Drakard, also of Canterbury Road, said: “The response from the Royal Mail has been disgusting. They haven’t explained what has happened or when the issue will be sorted.

“They have just fobbed us off and have no ownership of the issue, which is affecting all of us on the road.

"I have been down to the sorting office twice to see if I could get any answers, but the workers there have just told me there is an issue with a system change.”

She added that staff told her it is "chaos" in the sorting office.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We are sorry to any residents who have experienced delays in Watford and the surrounding area. Improving quality of service is our top priority and we are committed to restoring service levels to where our customers expect them to be.

“The local service has recently been impacted by staff shortages and sick absences.

“Across our business we have plans in place to drive service levels. We hope and expect to see further progress in the coming months."