A Royal Mail sorting office will be temporarily opening for longer in an attempt to tackle a post backlog.

It comes as people in Medway, Malling and Maidstone have been going without deliveries, with hospital patients missing appointments, birthdays going unmarked, and important letters going AWOL.

It saw one Gills fan receive his season ticket three months after the first game kicked off, and another person receiving a letter about an important medical test at a London hospital more than a week after her appointment had been.

Sorting offices are usually open for a maximum or four hours – two in the morning and two in the afternoon – and are fully closed on Sundays.

But the company has now said the customer service point at Snodland delivery office will be open until 2pm today and tomorrow in a bid to reduce the build-up.

KentOnline has put postal delays to the test. Click here to find out if Percy the Potato makes it to his destination for Christmas

Chatham and Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch said: “I do know that this won’t help everyone but I’m grateful to Royal Mail for the action.”

Since KentOnline revealed the extent of delivery days in the county, one Royal Mail postman came forward to express his embarrassment of the company.

He said: “I was once proud to wear the uniform, now I am embarrassed by it. When I started the job it was good. It was a job for life, a career. Not anymore.

“People rely on that service, the guy waiting for his season ticket, the lady with the hospital appointment, the child waiting for his birthday cards. They all deserve better.”