Post strike 'seals fate of hand deliveries'

Business leaders have attacked the "six-day" postal strike, due to start this week.

David Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said thousands of small firms would be affected, but warned disruption would damage the postal service in the long run.

He said: "These strikes simply hasten the inevitable march towards an electronic future, where manual deliveries will be a thing of the past. I think the Communication Workers Union must have a death wish."

The strike, the biggest for four years, will last from lunchtime on Thursday for 48 hours, and then restart early on Monday, October 8, for a further 48 hours. Because the strike straddles the weekend, there will almost certainly be no post for six days in a row.