The price of a first class stamp is set to increase above £1 for the first time, Royal Mail has announced.

The cash-strapped delivery giant has revealed it will increase the price of a first class stamp by 15p to £1.10p from April 3.

Meanwhile, it will also increase the price of a second class stamp by 7p to 75p.

Royal Mail said that the increases are needed to ensure that the universal service, which means any letter delivery costs the same irrespective of the distance, “remains sustainable”.

The group said it made the decision after witnessing a 25% decline in letter numbers since the pandemic, as well as higher cost inflation.

Royal Mail’s financial woes saw the company reveal plans last year for up to 6,000 redundancies, as it said it expected to fall to an annual loss of up to £450 million.

On Friday, Royal Mail said it remains committed to the universal service but said that costs are increasing as “customer behaviours change”.

The business has however asked the Government to reduce its obligation to deliver letters to Britons six-days-a-week to five-days-a-week.

Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail said: “We appreciate that many businesses and households are facing a challenging economic environment and we are committed to keeping our prices affordable.

“Letters have declined by 25% compared to pre-pandemic.

“We have to carefully balance our pricing against a continued decline in letter volumes and the increasing costs of delivering letters six days a week to an ever-growing number of addresses across the country.

“We need to make these price changes to ensure we can continue to maintain and invest in the one-price-goes-anywhere universal service for years to come.”