Postal workers have voted in favour of a national strike, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) has announced.

Of the Royal Mail staff who balloted, 76 per cent of staff said yes to strike action.

The news follows a series of regional strikes which have caused a backlog of millions of letters.

Postal workers voted three to one in favour of action, with more than 60,000 out of 80,000 workers voting to strike.

Commenting on the vote, CWU deputy general secretary, said: "If we don’t take a stand now then you will see postal services in the UK destroyed forever.

"We are calling on the government to take decisive action. What we want to see is that this company moves forward.

"We will be working hard to resolve this before a national strike takes place.

"There is a window of opportunity for the employer. We are urging for them to meet with us before a national strike takes place."

Exit polls earlier showed as many as 70 per cent of postal workers have backed the union’s call for a strike in their dispute over pay and work practices. The strike could start as early as next week and last for several days.

Royal Mail’s operations director, Paul Tolhurst, told the BBC that the Royal Mail wanted to keep talking to the CWU: "The union is constantly demanding that we halt the changes we are making. But we have completed our changes for this year, so there is a clear opportunity for the union to stop striking."

But the CWU general secretary Billy Hayes has said change is necessary.

"It has come to this because of the management of Royal Mail’s and the government’s refusal to engage the workforce on modernising the company," he said.

Recent strikes has meant thousands could face penalty charges for late bill payments, and the backlog is so bad the Christmas post could be effected.

The union has to give Royal Mail seven days’ notice of any strike, meaning industrial action could start next Thursday.

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