The Royal Mail is asking customers to post their mail earlier than usual for Christmas this year due to strike action by its workers.
Royal Mail workers are set to strike for six days over Christmas, including on Christmas Eve, in a fresh round of industrial action .
Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents 115,000 posties, plan to walk out.
The strikes will come at a time when countless Brits will be getting in their Christmas shopping in the run up to the big day.
It comes as a result of a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Almost two-thirds (62%) of Mirror readers support the strikes.
Now the Royal Mail is bringing forward its latest recommended posting dates for domestic and international mail to help manage any impact from planned strike action on December 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24.
Final suggested dates for sending second-class post has been brought forward from December 19 to 12 and for first class from December 21 to 16.
Nick Landon, chief commercial officer, Royal Mail, said: "We apologise to our customers for any disruption and delay that the CWU strike action is causing. We ask our customers to post early for Christmas to help us deliver Christmas."
Laura Joseph, Post Office customer experience director, said: "December 12 is now likely to be even busier in Post Office branches as customers race to take advantage of the cheaper postage as this is now the last recommended date for sending second-class parcels to arrive for Christmas.
"As soon as you've got your parcels ready to go, don't wait to come into branch and get them in the post - many Post Office branches are open long hours and some are open seven days a week so pop into your local branch and get your gifts sent in time for Christmas."
The Royal Mail is planning sweeping changes to the way its business operates but the CWU has warned this will turn well-paid jobs into a "casualised financially precarious workforce".
Some of the changes include gutting sick pay, worse terms for new staff and delaying the arrival of post to the public by three hours the union said.
The CWU previously warned that the Royal Mail had 'declared war' on people's local posties in a heated war of words between the two sides as the company claimed the union was playing a 'dangerous game' with its members' jobs.
Postmen and women are far from alone in taking action. As the cost of living crisis battered the country, criminal barristers, refuse collectors, journalists, airport workers and more have all turned to industrial action this year.
