DEVON MPs are demanding action from Royal Mail after local people missed vital appointments because their post was delayed.

In one case a driver missed the crucial time window to pay a reduced parking fine because her post was three weeks late arriving.

Torbay Liberal Democrat MP Steve Darling said the service was being “vandalised” but Royal Mail said its latest published figures showed that the quality of its service was the best it had been for many years.

Speaking during a Westminster Hall debate on Royal Mail performance, Mr Darling said that on a visit to a sorting office Newton Abbot Liberal Democrat MP Martin Wrigley had been told that undelivered post was hidden at the back of the office so he wouldn’t see it.

“There are some sharp practices occurring,” he said, adding that the parking charge delay which resulted in an enforcement organisation chasing up the unpaid fine was “utterly shameful”.

And, he went on: “Perhaps the most poignant issue is missed appointments, and I am aware of a number of examples in my constituency which impact not only people’s health, but also the hospitals.”

Exeter’s Labour MP Steve Race, meanwhile, has met senior representatives from the watchdog Ofcom to call for action on postal service reliability in Exeter.

He said the meeting followed months of complaints from people in the city, with almost 50 individual cases raised including delays affecting time-sensitive NHS letters, benefits decisions, bank cards and bills.

Royal Mail acknowledges that service levels in Exeter have not been good enough but maintains that the service is improving and that recruitment and operational changes are having a positive impact.

Recently Prime Minister Andy Burnham said his government was ready to deal with postal delays, saying the service had been “unacceptable for far too long”.

During Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons he said: “Post is being held up for weeks on end and it’s causing serious issues for far too many people.”

Targets set by the watchdog Ofcom say 90 per cent of first-class mail should be delivered the next day and 95 per cent of second-class mail should be delivered within three days. Ofcom lowered the targets in April, but Royal Mail has still not met them.

Mr Burnham went on: “Let’s be clear, they need to bring forward a plan to restore service standards. They need to do it quickly, or we will consider further measures.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “We know how important it is that customers receive their mail when expected and we take concerns about delays seriously.

“Our latest published figures show that quality of service is improving in the EX postcode area, with 81.8 per cent of First Class letters delivered the next working day, up from 74.4 per cent in the previous quarter.

“In the TQ postcode area, 87.4 per cent of First Class letters were delivered the next working day. We know there is more to do and remain focused on improving the reliability and consistency of our service for customers.”