Mail will be collected from most postboxes only once a day from next week.

The Post Office made the announcement this morning.

It says that each of its postboxes has been hit by a steady decline in the number of letters posted.

Since the last revision of post box collection times in 2017, letter volumes have dropped by 43%.

As a result, the Post Office will be reducing collections of the majority of its post boxes to one collection, Monday to Friday at 10am to guarantee an off-island dispatch for the same day and next-day delivery for local letters.

The new policy takes effect from March 27.

Post boxes that currently receive a collection on a Saturday will remain unchanged.

Frequently-used postboxes across the island, including those located outside post offices, will continue to have their usual second collection at 5pm.

The collection times shown on each postbox will be updated so customers know what time the next collection will be.

Those that receive more than one collection in a day, such as those that receive an early morning or afternoon collection will be marked green in order to be easily identifiable for customers.

Customers can also look at the interactive map on the Post Office website, allowing them to click onto an area of the island and onto any post box, which shows the collection times.

More help is available from customer services team on 664664 or email [email protected]

Postboxes suitable to drop-off parcels are available at Postal Headquarters, Circular Road, Athol Street and Finch Road in Douglas with further orders for parcel boxes planned.

Lisa Duckworth, the Post Office’s chief operating officer, said: ‘Our business continues to evolve as we adjust to reduced letter volumes and increased parcel volumes.

‘Letter volumes in letter boxes have dropped significantly since we last reviewed our collection times and these changes reflect that.

‘We continue to have 244 post boxes across the island for customers to post their letters.

‘Adjusting our post box collections to this decline enables us to streamline processes within our operation, becoming more efficient whilst seeking to reduce our carbon emissions wherever possible.

‘Over time, customers will see an increase in parcel boxes across the island.’

*No air mail was able to leave the island last night.

This means no air mail has been received in to the island this morning.

Therefore, no priority mail including Special Delivery and Parcelforce24/48 will be delivered today.

Local to local mail is unaffected.

The mail plane is due to dispatch yesterday’s and today’s mail this evening.