A Christmas card sent between friends in Great Yarmouth who only live half a mile apart was delivered nearly three weeks after it was posted.

Bob and Maureen Price were stunned to see a Christmas card arrive on the matt of their Marine Crescent home in Yarmouth on Wednesday from their friends Bertie and Maureen Collins who live in nearby Lawn Avenue - about a half a mile away.

The Collins’ card was post marked December 17 and had been delayed due the bad weather and backlog of seasonal mail.

Mr Price said: “It is not very good is it. In fact it is a bit of a joke. We see each other at rotary meetings so we could have exchanged cards there instead.”

Yarmouth business Sanctuary Beads, which delivers beads ordered from the internet, said many orders sent out on December 27 had still to be delivered and two customers had to be reimbursed.

Owner Paul Platten said: “There are still items that are in the postal system from December 27. “A lot of items are only just being delivered now.

“About 20pc of my emails are from customers asking where their orders are. I think Royal Mail has deteriorated and it just seems to depend on which sorting office you have to see if you get your mail on time.”

A Royal Mail spokesman said: “We are very sorry if any Christmas mail posted by the recommended posting dates did not arrive in time.

“We did deliver by Christmas the vast majority of the almost two billion letters, cards, packets and parcels posted in the run-up to Christmas.

“We always welcome hearing from any customer who has a concern or a query about the service and we would urge them to contact our customer services team on 08457 740740 or through our web site www.royalmail.com.