Dozens of households have had their post suspended after threats were made towards a postie, Royal Mail has said.

The company said one of its postal workers was "threatened and prevented from leaving" after attempting to deliver to an address in Sherburn Hill, County Durham, on Thursday.

This led to the "extraordinary" decision to immediately suspend services to 53 homes in the area to "safeguard" its employees, it said in a letter to those affected. A spokesperson said Durham Police was also called to the scene.

Royal Mail said it hoped to resume postal services "as soon as it was safe to do so". In the meantime, people have been told they can collect their post from a nearby delivery office.

A spokesperson said: "Deliveries were temporarily suspended following a serious incident in which one of our posties was threatened and prevented from leaving. The incident was reported to the police, who attended the scene.

"The safety of our colleagues is our priority, and we're working to resume deliveries as soon as it is safe to do so."

Durham Police has been approached for comment.

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