Royal Mail is looking on clients to assist, and an indication on the door might go a good distance
Royal Mail has issued a plea to clients, warning that failure to behave might outcome within the firm having to “droop deliveries to your deal with.” And all it might take is an easy four-word signal in your entrance door to cease the problem.
Based on figures printed on the Royal Mail web site on June 30 2025, canine assaults on postal staff elevated by 2% over the earlier 12 months, reaching a complete of two,197 incidents. This equates to roughly 42 assaults each week nationwide, with some postal staff sustaining everlasting or life-changing accidents.
To deal with this challenge, Royal Mail is selling easy measures to guard workers whereas sustaining an uninterrupted supply service. One simple answer is a four-word postcard that reads “I’ve a canine.”
This printable postcard alerts the supply individual to attend when you safe your pet, providing you with time to put them in one other room. Postal staff will wait patiently so that you can reply the door.
In correspondence despatched to clients, Royal Mail acknowledged that whereas “receiving your letters and parcels” is necessary, its precedence is “to get these things to you safely, and I am hoping that you would be able to assist me with that.”
The letter highlighted a sobering statistic: “Round 2,000 posties like me are injured by canines every year, each massive and small. When this occurs, we should inform the Police and droop deliveries to your deal with, as we will not take the possibility that the canine could assault once more.”
Requesting public help, Royal Mail has highlighted the next key data:
- Please do not open the door till your canine is safely secured
- Please put them in one other room or behind a gate first and don’t fear, I’ll wait!
- Shut gates and doorways to cease your canine getting free.
- In case you have a again or aspect backyard, please ensure that your canine can’t get out and gates and doorways are closed
- Set up a letter field cage as generally canines assault or snatch mail from the letterbox and this could trigger severe accidents to postie’s fingers, together with amputation of fingers, in addition to inflicting accidents to the canine.
- Present an alternate supply level if you’re struggling to do any of the above
This 4 phrase signal might assist everybody (Picture: Royal Mail/Attain PLC)
Excessive-risk areas within the UK
These are the highest postcode areas for canine assaults on postal staff.
1st
The S (Sheffield) postcode space skilled a regarding 61% enhance in canine assaults on Royal Mail postal staff this 12 months, in stark distinction to an 18% lower the earlier 12 months. A complete of 66 assaults have been reported in 2024/25, up from 41 in 2023/24. Notably, the S postcode space has constantly appeared on each high-risk checklist for canine assaults since postcode-specific knowledge started being reported. That is the fourth time it has been probably the most harmful location for canine assaults.
2nd
Canine assaults within the PO (Portsmouth) have been marginally down on final 12 months – with 60 assaults in comparison with 62 for 2023/24 – equating to a 3% drop. The postcode space got here joint prime of harmful areas for canine assaults final 12 months. The PO postcode space has featured within the prime, most high-risk areas for canine assaults for eight consecutive years and 9 in whole since Royal Mail started publishing assault figures.
third
The TN (Kent/Sussex/Surrey) postcode space recorded a 33% enhance in canine assaults on Royal Mail postal staff this 12 months, following a 35% lower in 2023/24. A complete of 56 assaults have been reported within the newest interval, up from 42 the earlier 12 months. The TN postcode space has appeared on the checklist of most harmful areas for canine assaults for 11 consecutive years and ranked as probably the most harmful location for postal staff in 2023/24.
4th
That is the second time the GU (Guildford) postcode space has featured on the high-risk checklist since 19/20. The 54 assaults reported this 12 months present a 29% enhance on final 12 months’s 42 incidents. That is the sixth time the postcode space has appeared on probably the most harmful areas checklist for canine assaults since Royal Mail started reporting postcode-specific figures.
fifth
The NG (Nottingham) postcode noticed 49 canine assaults on postal staff this 12 months. This can be a 17% enhance on the 42 assaults in 2023/24. That is the fifth consecutive 12 months that the NG postcode space has appeared within the checklist of most harmful areas for canine assaults – final 12 months it was the sixth most unsafe location within the UK for canine assaults on Royal Mail postal staff. The postcode space has featured within the high-risk areas 9 occasions since Royal Mail started reporting postcode-specific figures.
Prospects could get an e mail like this (Picture: Sophie Buchan)
sixth
The CM (Chelmsford) and BN (Brighton) postcode areas are the joint sixth highest-risk areas with 47 canine assaults on Royal Mail postal staff reported in every location.
The BN (Brighton) postcode space recorded 47 canine assaults on Royal Mail postal staff this 12 months—a slight 2% lower from the 48 incidents reported in 2023/24. This marks the ninth consecutive 12 months the BN space has appeared on the high-risk checklist since Royal Mail started publishing location-specific knowledge. It ranked fourth-highest in threat final 12 months and was probably the most harmful location for canine assaults in 2021.
The CM (Chelmsford) postcode space has appeared on the high-risk checklist for canine assaults on Royal Mail postal staff 3 times since location-specific knowledge was first printed. It was first listed in 2018/19, when 38 assaults have been reported, and once more in 2019/20 with 44 incidents.
seventh
The BT (Belfast) and NE (Newcastle) postcode areas are the seventh joint highest-risk areas with 45 canine assaults on Royal Mail postal staff reported in every location.
The BT (Belfast) postcode space noticed a 27% drop in canine assaults this 12 months in comparison with 62 incidents reported in 2023/24. Final 12 months the postcode space was the 2nd most harmful place for assaults. The BT postcode space has appeared in each canine assault hot-spot checklist since Royal Mail started releasing location particular date in 2013. It has been probably the most harmful location for assaults 5 occasions.
eighth
That is the second time the SN (Swindon) postcode space has featured in probably the most high-risk areas. This 12 months noticed 44 assaults reported, a ten% enhance on the 40 incidents in 2022/23.
ninth
The DN (Doncaster) postcode space has appeared on Royal Mail’s canine assault hot-spot checklist for the primary time since location-specific knowledge started being printed in 2013. In the latest reporting 12 months, 42 assaults on postal staff have been recorded—a rise of 31% in comparison with the 32 incidents reported in 2023/24.
tenth
The ST (Staffordshire) postcode space has entered Royal Mail’s checklist of most harmful areas for the primary time. This 12 months, 40 canine assaults on postal staff have been reported—a 33% rise from the 30 incidents recorded in 2023/24.
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Royal Mail says ‘severe accidents’ and ’emotional misery’ are a giant downside
Lizz Lloyd, Well being & Security Director at Royal Mail, mentioned: “Canine assaults stay one of the vital important security dangers confronted by postal staff. In lots of instances, these incidents lead to severe accidents, emotional misery, and time away from work. Royal Mail continues to name on the general public to be vigilant and accountable by securing their pets earlier than opening the door to obtain mail or packages.
“We proceed to put money into security coaching and consciousness campaigns for each workers and the general public, however emphasise that neighborhood cooperation is crucial to lowering these incidents.”
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