Mail Posts Trillion Mark

The Royal Mail has delivered more than one trillion letters across the UK since records began in 1839, research has shown.

The postal group said it expected deliveries to continue increasing despite alternative forms of communicating such as emails and texting.

More than 84 million items are delivered every day and officials said they expected the next trillion milestone to be reached in 30 years time.

The milestone was announced ahead of changes next week to the pricing of post, which will be based on size and shape as well as weight.

Letters sent since 1839, when the Penny Black stamp was first introduced, would cover the whole of the earth 42,500 times over, the study showed.