Announced today:

The price of a first class stamp will rise by 10p to 95p and second class stamps will also increase by 2p to 68p, with the new prices coming into effect on 4 April.

The rise was, said the Post Office, due to falling volumes of post - up to 60% since their peak in 2004/5 and by around 20% since the start of the pandemic.

The rise is the equivalent of 12 per cent.

Reported on the business site Bloomberg.

Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail said: "We understand that many companies and households are finding it hard in the current economic environment, and we will always keep our prices as affordable as possible. "Whilst the number of letters our postmen and women deliver has declined from around 20 billion a year to around seven billion since 2004/5, the number of addresses they have to deliver to has grown by around 3.5 million in the same period. "These price changes are necessary to ensure we can continue to maintain and invest in the one-price-goes-anywhere universal service for future generations."