MONMOUTH AM Nick Ramsay has taken the unusual step of contacting the Chief Executive of Royal Mail directly, to ask for the proposed closure date of Usk sorting office to be postponed.

The AM said, "I have asked the Chief Executive of Royal Mail to look at a long term solution for the whole of Monmouthshire that would allow sorting office staff to be based in the county as common sense would dictate.

"The public disquiet over the proposed relocation of Usk sorting office to Pontypool next January, combined with the local staff's unhappiness over the plans has led me to take this step.

"I have asked that Royal Mail's current plans for Usk are put on hold whilst they look strategically at the whole area of rural Monmouthshire in the hope of finding a new plan which would be a more acceptable solution for both staff and customers.

" After speaking to local staff it seems to me that a scheme that considers the big picture in terms of Monmouthshire's mail will one day be required, so why not look at this instead of a relocation of Usk's operations to Pontypool."