BUSINESS is booming for a former lorry driver who decided to become a courier earlier this year. And it’s all because of trouble at Royal Mail.

Self-employed Steve Fox, 50, from North Leigh, near Witney, said he had hit the jackpot by buying a franchise from the FastWay delivery service, because strike action by postal workers has seen more parcels coming his way.

He said: “A fortnight ago business tripled and now its shooting up again.

“People wanting parcels delivered call me, thanks to the strikes. I am already toying with the idea of employing someone else.”

He added: “I worked as a lorry driver for an agency until June, having been made redundant three times before that.

Then I became self-employed and I haven’t looked back since. I didn’t get on my bike, I got in my van – and have been run off my wheels.”

The Oxfordshire branch of courier giant TNT Express, which delivers parcels and other packages, had much the same tale to tell.

Spokesman Nick Murray said: “We are at least 10 per cent up and one day last week, in the run-up to the strikes, we were up 16 per cent on business to business deliveries of goods.”

However, many firms in the county remain deeply concerned that further trouble and additional strikes at Royal Mail will cost them in the run up to Christmas.

Lianne Fisher, owner of allthingsgifts.co.uk, based in Chalgrove, said: “We are using UK Mail and DHL instead of Royal Mail, but it costs between £4 and £5 a time compared to about £1.60.

“We can’t absorb all that and so we are passing on the costs – or at least some of them – to customers.”

She added: “I feel that the strikes have put people off even looking online for gifts as they probably fear they will never arrive.”

Peter Fenn, of Around the Clock Couriers, Russet Road, Ardley, near Bicester, said: “We have only had one extra job as a result of the strike, but the phone hasn’t stopped ringing with people wanting quotes for having letters delivered.”

But he added: “We can’t compete with the Royal Mail’s 30p charge.

“Our minimum charge is £20, so we are not providing the same service. But we are getting all these crazy calls.

“People are getting desperate and they can be very rude.”

Justin Brookes, of Mail Boxes Etc, in Headington and Summertown, Oxford, added: “The postal strike is not good news for us because we use Royal Mail.

“We do offer an alternative service to Royal Mail, but it is more expensive, so people only use it if it’s important. Otherwise, people are not sending it.”

He also said bulk mail volumes had dropped as a result of the strike because businesses were postponing their direct mailing campaigns.

His business uses the Royal Mail’s priority service Parcelforce, which is unaffected by the strike, and offers a two-day delivery service for £10.50.

Royal Mail employees are striking in protest over pay and working conditions.

Last night Royal Mail spokesman Tom Prendergast said: “It remains hugely disappointing that the Communication Workers’ Union seems to be in denial about the reality of the tough economic conditions facing everyone in the UK and the impact of competition, especially from email and the internet.

“Every one per cent of lost business is costing Royal Mail some £70m a year, so we have to reduce costs and focus more strongly than ever on delivering consistent, high quality service.”