FED up Arthur Brown has slammed over zealous posties who keep collecting mail from post boxes too early.

Mr Brown, of Church Road, Tylers Green, fears his letters could get to their destinations late because he keeps missing the early morning collections.

But the 81-year-old blames his problems on Royal Mail bosses because his local post box, in St John's Road, is being emptied early.

He said: "It's disgusting that they are doing this. People try to post their letters according to the times on the post box. If the times aren't being kept it makes a nonsense of the whole thing."

The first daily collection should be at 10am with a second one at 4pm. But Mr Brown says the first collection has been made as early as 8.30am.

A spokesman for Royal Mail explained that as long as customers posted their first class letters before the last collection time, their mail would reach its destination the next day.