HUNDREDS of Christmas deliveries for homes in Oxfordshire have been delayed or cancelled after the heaviest December snowfall in years.

Postmen and women will be making extra deliveries into the evening until Thursday to try to clear the backlog, after Royal Mail admitted deliveries had been disrupted and it could not promise to deliver everything in time for Christmas.

Supermarket chain Tesco, which cancelled delivery orders by sending text message to customers over the weekend, also said it could not guarantee deliveries in time for Christmas.

Royal Mail said staff were working around the clock but difficult road conditions caused by the weekend’s snow, plus disruption to flights and trains used for trunk hauls of mail and parcels, were hampering its efforts. It said it could only deliver “where it can get to”.

Spokesman Tom Prendergast said: “Royal Mail remains committed to delivering on behalf of its customers and is doing everything possible to deliver letters, cards and parcels.”

He refused to comment on whether moving the mail sorting operation for Oxfordshire to Swindon was also having an effect, because of the state of the A420.

Nicola Hayes, from Headington, said Tesco cancelled her £120 Christmas food delivery an hour before it was due to arrive on Saturday.

The mother-of two said: “Luckily my partner drove us to the Cowley store but what if we didn’t have a car or were elderly?

“When we got there, the car park was pandemonium and my partner had to use his shovel to help clear the snow.”

A Tesco spokesman said: “Online orders go to local stores, so the problem varies, dependant on snowfall in that particular area.

“The situation is unavoidable. We can’t make guarantees about delivery times, because the weather is changing by the minute.

“We are working extremely hard and orders are getting through. We of course apologise for any inconvenience.”

Sainsbury and Asda supermarkets declined to comment about whether they were facing delivery delays.

Other businesses in the county have also been hit.

Courier and taxi firm Oxford Carriages, in Dashwood Road, is losing “a hell of a lot of business”, according to its owner.

Iqy Chaudhary said: “We’re having to cancel almost everything.

“We can’t deliver anything, because of the roads and we’re having to cancel taxis. This is the busiest time of year for us.”

A spokesman for Clearwater Hampers, in East Hendred, said deliveries had been affected by the snow.

But she added: “We’re trying to work things out but doing okay. Everyone here is extremely busy.”

dhearn@oxfordmail.co.uk