People across Scotland are being warned of possible delays in receiving their Christmas parcels due to “exceptionally” high demand by Royal Mail.

A double-hit of more online shopping and tight restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic have now been made even worse by the vast reduction in Christmas ‘bubble’ rules over the weekend - meaning more people may take to posting presents rather than giving in person.

The postal service previously said it was experiencing an "exceptionally high volume of post" but is working hard to get post delivered as fast as possible.

The last postal dates for Christmas this year are:

  • 1st Class and Royal Mail Tracked 48 - Monday, December 21,
  • Royal Mail Tracked 24 - Tuesday, December 22,
  • Special Delivery Guaranteed - Wednesday, December 23.

Earlier in the month, a statement from Royal Mail said: "We are working hard to deliver the most comprehensive and high-quality service we can to all our customers, large and small.

"The combination of greatly increased uptake of online Christmas shopping, in no small part driven by the recent lockdown, and the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions mean that all delivery companies are experiencing exceptionally high volumes this year.

"Every single parcel, letter and card is important to us. Despite our best efforts and significant investment in extra resource, some customers may experience slightly longer delivery timescales than our usual service standards.

"This is due to the exceptionally high volumes we are seeing, exacerbated by the coronavirus-related measures we have put in place in local mail centres and delivery offices.

"In such cases, we always work hard to get back to providing our usual level of service as quickly as we can. Thank you for your patience and understanding."