Extra deliveries for online Christmas shopping boom

The service expects to deliver a record 165 million items ordered online for Christmas.

Extra delivery rounds will be made on the morning of Sunday, December 19, and between 6pm and 9pm on December 22 and 23 to give customers a second chance to accept parcels Royal Mail was unable to deliver during standard deliveries.

It will also extend the opening hours of all Royal Mail's 1,400 delivery offices for two weeks from December 13.

The hours will vary from office to office but the largest and busiest will remain open until 7.30pm during the week and 5.30pm on December 19.

Spokesman Mike Brown said: "Royal Mail is prepared for its biggest online Christmas ever and has taken steps to help people get their items as conveniently as possible."