POSTAL workers have racked up �10,000 in parking fines dished out while they were collecting mail from town centre post offices.

Furious Royal Mail managers have blasted Redbridge Council for “excessive fines” after revealing that some vans are receiving �50 tickets up to three times a day while trying to gather post from boxes.

The post office in Cranbrook Road, Ilford, has been hardest hit, with drivers often having to pull up on double yellow lines because parking bays are full.

In a letter of complaint sent to Labour Cllr Filly Maravala, transport manager Kevin Buckley said the postal firm has made 66 appeals against fines, which have all been rejected.

He added: “We are continually fined for emptying the post box and business box outside our own delivery office.

“This has now amounted to nearly �10,000 – an amount that no business can afford in the current economic climate.

“How can we deliver to customers when the fine is more than the cost of a single stamp?

“All we are asking is that we can go about and perform the best possible service for Redbridge customers.”

He said traffic cameras have led to the soaring number of tickets since April, but postmaster Nisha Patel said wardens are also often on the prowl.

She revealed she had been ticketed when unloading stock, adding: “There is nowhere for anyone to park as those pay and display bays are often occupied.

“It’s really difficult for them and I think sometimes it stops them from collecting, which obviously isn’t good for the people who want their post.”

Deliveries to shops on Cranbrook Road and the double yellow lines outside the central delivery office in Chadwick Road, Ilford, have also led to more fines.

Cllr Maravala said: “These people are doing a public service – not everything is about issuing tickets.

“I often see council contractors blocking cycle lanes or parking on pavements.”

He urged the council to work with the company to ensure it does not have to break parking rules. A Redbridge Council spokesman said: “The council has met with the representatives of Royal Mail and advised them of the situation and ways to resolve the parking problem.”