A hamlet just outside Hatherleigh had their post unexpectedly cut off from Royal Mail for over a month due to “dangerous” potholes.

The eight residents of Essworthy were told to make the 14 mile trip to Okehampton to queue for their Royal Mail deliveries despite other couriers, delivery vans and oil tankers making the trip down the lane to the houses.

Val Bennallick, 62, has lived in Essworthy for ten years and admits the lane is “in a bit of a state during the winter” but received mail to her address with minimal problems until December 2024.

She said: “By the time we knew that the mail wasn’t going to be delivered to our addresses some of the letters were 17 days old. They said we could have a mailbox at the end of our lane but that wasn’t suitable because it’s half a mile from our house and it wouldn’t be secure.”

Royal Mail did an inspection of the road and deemed it unsafe for their drivers to negotiate.

Val has a medical condition called multiple sclerosis which affects her movement. So her main concern is that she would still have to travel to Okehampton to receive her mail when she becomes less mobile.

She was not happy with the solution Royal Mail provided so carried on fighting for her post to be delivered to her house and to the three other houses in Essworthy.

The first message that she sent to the office about the lack of delivery took around 20 days to get a response, which she describes as “ludicrous”.

At Okehampton Post Office, residents of Essworthy could only access their mail between 8am and 10am which is not feasible for the majority of people in Essworthy.

She continued: “It just makes me think ‘how many Royal Mail staff does it take to change a lightbulb?’ I’m topping 30 contacts I’ve made, going backwards and forwards with different people in the office. One tells you one thing and another says something different.”

Val then took the dispute to the CEO office of Royal Mail as she felt she was getting nowhere with her complaints.

After speaking to a member of the CEO office, a compromise was found which meant the eight residents of Essworthy could pick up their mail from Hatherleigh Post Office which is half a mile away.

“The problems we’ve experienced in Essworthy have opened my eyes to how many other people have had issues similar to us, not just in Devon but across the country.

“I’m thankful that I can pick up my mail from Hatherleigh now but it shouldn’t taken since the 10th of December to get here.”

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Deliveries were suspended for four properties due to concerns from the local team about the poor quality of the private road leading to them. We are sorry that this was not communicated to Mrs Bennallick. We have spoken to Mrs Bennallick and provided her with a solution.”