The manager of Biddulph's Royal Mail office has issued a plea for residents to put their Coronavirus testing kits in the correct postboxes, to prevent the risk of postal staff catching Covid-19.

The testing kits are supposed to be collected by Royal Mail staff in Stoke-on-Trent and left in 'priority' postboxes.

However, staff at the Royal Mail sorting office in Biddulph have reportedly been coming across testing kits that have been left in the wrong postboxes, despite not being required to deal with the tests themselves.

Now the manager of Royal Mail's Biddulph office says these stray testing kits are exposing staff to increased risk of the disease, and asked people to ensure they are posting their kits in the correct way.

He said: "We all know Covid-19 is on the rise and we are seeing a lot more home testing kits in our postboxes.

"The problem we're facing in Biddulph at the moment is that not everyone is using the labelled 'priority postboxes' for the tests to be posted in to.

"This is exposing my staff to increased risk when emptying them as the personal protection equipment is not always present and they are not expected to handle these items as there are set duties at Royal Mail Stoke who empty those priority boxes.

"We're doing our best for you during this pandemic with reduced staffing levels so my plea to you is that you keep my postmen and women safe so that they can continue to deliver to you as often as we can. Stay safe all and thank you."

For more information on priority postboxes and how to post your testing kit safely, visit the Royal Mail's website here.