MAIL bosses last night pledged to end the region's escalating postal crisis after talks with union leaders.

But unions said that the problems caused by a cost-cutting strategy to combine first and second posts may not be fully resolved for two or three weeks.

They also said that Royal Mail's Durham depot was understaffed by more than ten per cent - 22 of its 200 staff - and Darlington was short of eight.

Angry residents and businesses throughout the North-East have been facing lengthy delays in deliveries, with some small businesses complaining they could not operate efficiently without early deliveries.

Some people have not been receiving mail until 3pm - despite postmen and women working longer shifts and delivering mail on Sundays to clear backlogs.

Last night, one postal worker, who did not want to be named, said that parcels were often left undelivered for several days because of the crisis.

He said: "This is a time of year when many gardeners get plants delivered. But the plants have been lying in the sorting office for almost a week because we just can't deliver them all."

Staff shortages caused by non-replacement have exacerbated the delays. Some staff are on long-term sick leave.

Tom Clark, area delivery representative for the Communication Workers' Union, said: "We had a meeting at Darlington and it went pretty well. They agreed that they will recruit eight staff to help with the deliveries, rather than employing agency staff.

"They are also going to let a member of staff test the postmen and women's new walks, to check that they are the right length, because at the moment they are taking far too long.

"We have also spoken to the Durham area management, and they are looking at recruiting more staff.

"But we are looking at two or three weeks at least before the problems begin to be resolved."

He said he would be meeting Derwentside sorting office staff to resolve problems there.

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said there would be "teething problems" with any new system, but she said they were working hard to resolve any hitches.

What Royal Mail calls "teething problems" have affected other parts of the UK since the introduction of the system.