HUDDERSFIELD posties are among the best in Britain.

Our mail delivery is the second quickest in the UK.

The national target for first class mail delivery is that 92.5% reaches its destination the next working day after postage.

A Royal Mail survey shows Huddersfield was the second-best performer, delivering 96.8% on time.

Sheffield came first with 96.9%.

Nationally, 98.6% of second class mail was delivered on time, ahead of this year's target of 98.5%.

Special Delivery services were also doing well, with a 99.2% success rate.

Mail service watchdog, Postwatch, said the results were impressive, but some areas - such as Newcastle and Stockport - were not delivering quickly enough.

Both fell below the `minimum' standard of 90.5% of deliveries on time.

Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier said mail reliability was at its highest level since the summer of 1998.

He said: "The figures show that our workers efforts are paying off."

But potential strikes threaten this success.

The Communication Workers Union - which represents postal workers - is balloting 160,000 members on whether to take industrial action over a pay dispute.