Royal Mail chiefs have welcomed Ofcom's decision to safeguard the six-day-a-week universal postal service in the UK.

The regulator has vowed to keep the system open to all members of society, which means protecting post boxes in rural areas, and it will ensure the service "remains financially sustainable in the presence of competition".

A statement from Royal Mail read: "We welcome Ofcom's commitment to actively monitor all direct delivery market participants and track developments in the market and any prospective risks to the universal service."

Ofcom discovered that nine out of ten residential and business consumers think the current postal system meets their needs and so there is no need for any radical overhaul of deliveries.

Moving forward, the regulator has proposed that there must be a post box within half a mile of 98 per cent of all delivery points.

In addition to this, Royal Mail must provide suitable access to postal services to people who reside in areas that cover the remaining two per cent of the country.