THE vision of a postman on a bicycle will be a thing of the past as Royal Mail scraps pedal power in favour of vans.

Postmen and women in Dursley, Wotton and surrounding areas are furious that their bikes are being compulsorily taken away from them.

They are also taking the flak for new working hours imposed on them, which involves making deliveries later in the day.

A postman who contacted the Gazette anonymously said he wanted to apologise to local residents who miss getting their mail early, but appealed to them to understand it was not their fault.

"Royal Mail are the ones who want us to start later and get rid of the bikes, most of us have families and these new hours are going to play havoc with our lives especially as most posties like finishing early on Saturday to spend time with family and now will no longer have the chance," he said.

Bikes have been the mainstay of postmen and women’s daily lives for over a century, but due to ‘modernisation plans’ Royal Mail is phasing out its 24,000 bicycles in the country. Not all areas have got rid of all bikes, however the Dursley delivery office has decided to completely phase out bikes in favour of vans.

Two postmen will go out in one van carrying all the letters and parcels for the day.

In Wotton the system is already in place and Dursley is due to make the move in the next few weeks.

Mark Spencer, former Wotton postie, said he thought it was a great shame.

"A few years back we would have post by 7am, now it is more like 1pm, because of all the changes Royal Mail keep making. It isn't the posties' fault. I feel glad I am not working there any more, it used to be a good service we worked for and now it is being destroyed."

A Royal Mail spokesman said: "We are seeing more packets and parcels in response to online shopping and fewer letters, so postmen and women will be paired up in vans to be able to take all the post out in one go.

"I can see that there is nostalgia around seeing postmen and women on bicycles in the community, but we will still be providing the best service without them."