Letters were delayed last Christmas

It comes after a report from the Office of Utility Regulation (OUR) into the causes of a postal breakdown Christmas and wider issues affecting the service.

The Christmas delays were due to a mix of circumstances, including a change in premises the introduction of new sorting equipment and a change working practices.

Guernsey Post (GPL) now faces deadlines for improvements to its services with tough penalties for failure, including the threat that its licence would be revoked.

It provides an opportunity for GPL to develop a postal service that meets Guernsey's needs Regeena Finn

The Director General of the OUR, Regeena Finn, said although the changes contributed to the breakdown, there were more fundamental problems at Guernsey Post.

She said: "GPL has breached a number of its licence conditions, including failure to operate and provide the postal services to a satisfactory standard."

She said the new deadlines will give the company a chance to address the problems.

Delay regrets

She said: "It provides an opportunity for GPL to develop and provide a postal service that meets Guernsey's needs socially and economically.

"I hope that the company and its workforce grasp that opportunity, so that GPL can continue to be an integral part of the fabric of Guernsey."

Guernsey Post said: "The Board of Directors and management of Guernsey Post sincerely regret the delays on postal services over the Christmas and New Year period and apologise to our customers for the problems."

One of the new conditions is that GPL has to provide a reduced 10p per card Christmas delivery service for the end of 2003.