Customers want the return of newspapers with their post

Bosses at the postal service have changed their minds about a ban on post men and women working with local newsagents.

But they insist the postal service must have a share of the money which the stores pay out for their newspapers to go through people's letterboxes along with the mail.

The Royal Mail was branded as "petty" in February after it banned postal staff from delivering newspapers with the post in rural areas of Monmouthshire.

But the Royal Mail says it had no choice but to stop the ad hoc arrangement - even though one newsagent is thought to have lost more than 100 customers.

Paid

The deal had grown up over a number of year as a private arrangement between newsagents in the county and postal workers.

The shops paid the postal staff to deliver newspapers and magazines while out on their rounds.

Postal staff had an arrangement with newsagents

All sides - the newsagents, their customers and the postal workers - found it beneficial as not every community in the rural county has a shop, buses run infrequently and not everyone has a car.

Elderly and disabled people were particularly angry at the Royal Mail's decision to halt the informal arrangement.

But the company said they had no choice because it could not be justified to the industry's regulator - the eyes and ears of the taxpayer.

But after some consideration, they hope to re-establish the deliveries - provided the postal service can show it is being paid for the work.

Paul Kelly, Royal Mail Area Operations Manager for South Wales, said: "The conditions by which Royal Mail operates its delivery service are now subject to contract and regulation.

The postal service needs to justify delivering newspapers

"These conditions simply do not allow for us to offer a newsagent in Abergavenny, or anywhere else, a free delivery service.

"It is also costing the business, as some of the postmen who deliver newspapers are unable to complete their round without overtime.

"However, we are currently in talks with the newsagents involved with a view to agreeing a contract which will enable us to deliver newspapers to customers in rural areas.

"Similar contracts have been drawn up in the past for delivery of newspapers to rural parts of Scotland and we are hopeful that there will be a successful outcome here which will suit all parties."

Round trip

The apparent change of heart has been welcomed by one customer, near Usk, who had her papers delivered for five years until the recent halt.

She said: "We don't have a village shop or regular bus service so every day now I have to make a round trip of 12 miles just to pick up a newspaper.

"It's alright for me I have a car but not everyone can afford to run one.

"As to the elderly or disabled it really is a problem for them."