AS ANGRY business bosses prepare to confront Royal Mail officials at tomorrow's crucial meeting on the new, controversially slow postal delivery, protests from York firms have been pouring into the Evening Press office.

The meeting, backed by York MP Hugh Bayley, the York Chamber of Trade, the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and the Yorkshire CBI, will see selected bosses in the business community calling on Royal Mail to improve the service, which has brought chaos to many of them.

The invitation-only gathering at York's Mansion House will tell Royal Mail area general manager Andy Lamb that plans to reduce the number of deliveries from two to one may cut costs for his organisation, but are causing chaos for theirs.

In turn, they will be told that Royal Mail has made changes that will need time to work through.

But Adam Sinclair - chairman of the York Chamber of Trade, owner of Mulberry Hall, the famous glassware shop in Stonegate, and joint organiser of the meeting - is determined that whatever progress is made must mean that deliveries are at about 8.30am, rather than between 11am and 3pm as they are now.

"We have no objections to one delivery rather than two, but it must be at a time which does not disrupt staff, sales and service," he said.

Scores of firms in greater York responded to our Stand & Deliver campaign by pleading for early morning rather than afternoon deliveries. They paint a picture of exasperation and bewilderment by businesses and lack of detailed planning by Royal Mail.

Updated: 11:30 Thursday, February 12, 2004