THE Internet has delivered a business boost to the transformed Royal Mail.

"It's been brilliant for us," said Kent general manager Paul Meddelton, based at Sandling Road, Maidstone. "We've seen a massive increase in the amount of packets and parcels we now deliver," he said.

The Royal Mail works in partnership with e-tailers like Amazon. Together, they sent out around 55m items at Christmas.

The rise in Internet business has come at a time when the Royal Mail faces increasing pressure from competitors and electronic communications.

It had been losing £1m a day when Allan Leighton, chairman, and Adam Crozier, chief executive took control of the ailing business. The operation is now making £1m a day.

Since then, they have axed 30,000 jobs, ended the afternoon delivery, switched staff to a five-day week and streamlined the transport system. More controversially, they have closed hundreds of post offices in Kent and across the country.

In Kent alone, one per cent has been shaved from the £140m Royal Mail budget, much of that due to the ending of afternoon delivery which accounted for 20 per cent of the budget but only four per cent of the mail.

Kent, one of 31 areas nationwide, is now one of the Royal Mail's top performers. Mr Meddelton, who is not responsible for post offices, said fewer than 100 people - all volunteers - out of a 5,500 workforce had been made redundant.

Clearly buoyed by the improvement in Royal Mail fortunes, Mr Meddelton said: "We've managed transformational change both nationwide and within Kent without having to make anybody compulsorily redundant, which is something we're very proud of.

"What we've done in Kent and nationally is the biggest change in this business in over 350 years."

It had needed a huge culture change within the organisation, but staff had adapted well and customers were starting to see the benefit.

There had been a nine-point improvement in first class delivery performance, with around 93 per cent delivered the following day - although it was lower over the Christmas period.

Mr Meddelton dismissed the taunt of "Snail Mail." The Royal Mail was handling 83m items every day (120m at Christmas), showing that the service was valued.

Around 10 per cent is so-called social mail - greetings cards, letters and the like - with the rest made up of business post.

He does not like the term "Junk Mail," saying it is "direct delivery" mail that represents good business for the Royal Mail, and bring in even more when people respond.

Email had had no marked impact on the business, Mr Meddelton said. "Having something on your computer screen isn't the same as a parcel delivered through the post or a greeting.

"We're never going to be a quick as down the wires. But we've got an awful lot of items being delivered on time the next day."

Mr Meddelton, who lives in Ashford and has worked his way up from a 16-year old postal counter assistant, said the Royal Mail was still losing money on stamped mail - around 5p on a 28p item.

The Royal Mail is considering raising more revenue from parcels by charging according to size rather than weight.

Mr Meddelton said the Royal Mail was now better equipped to meet the challenge of competition. But it remained a concern.

"If competitors are simply allowed to cherry pick all the cost-effective mail away from us, that could potentially become a threat in other areas of our business," he said.

As for the future, he said there could be more jobs in Kent if door-to-door services and packet deliveries increased. "It will all depend on how we deal with our customers and get our strategies for future growth and competition right."