IT IS not always pleasant getting up for work at 4 am in all weathers, delivering only 99.8 per cent of mail correctly.

However, it seems that is not enough for our own local loud-mouthed critic Citizen Smith, judging by his cruel and sweeping comments last week.

The impression he is giving in Lancaster is that postmen and women do not deliver a service. So what is his definition of service 100 per cent accuracy at all times or it is not a service at all?

My definition of a service is volume of mail minus loss of mail, which in this case equals 99.8 per cent delivered correctly. By anyone's reckoning that is a service which is being done a great disservice by cheep knockers like Smith.

I am not suggesting that it is OK for any letter to be delayed or misplaced but just that he should point his obvious frustrations with life in the direction it needs to go rather than getting a bee in his beret about hard-working men and women who can do without his cheap jibes about not taking responsibility.

He should know that the level of successful deliveries would be much lower if postmen and women across the country did not take it upon themselves to go that extra mile deciphering wrongly addressed mail.

On a daily basis I deal with 10 to 15 wrongly addressed items on average, most without a return address but most of which get to where they were intended to go.

He should remember that when thousands of people receive their wrongly address cards and presents this Christmas - and spare a thought for the poor sodden postman on the doorstep.

Next time Smith is hob knobbing with chairpersons, directors and Royal Mail top brass, why does he not ask them what happened to his letter instead of slagging off hard working people who are in no way responsible for his delayed letters.

Finally, I always thought that any journalistic endeavour should contain an element of researched truth, not just shameless promotion of an obviously over-inflated ego.

S O Kennedy, Lancaster.