Post charges to rise 2p

The cost of posting a local letter is going up - by two pence, from 28 to 30p.

The first increase in local postal charges for two years comes into effect in April.

The cost of sending a letter to the United Kingdom is unchanged at 31p.

International mail charges are to be streamlined - with Zone One and Two categories replaced with a single tariff.

That'll make it cheaper to send mail to Australasia and the Far East but more expensive elsewhere.

Chairman of Isle of Man Post Pamela Crowe says the price rises are unavoidable due to increases in their costs and that the changes will boost postage income by 3.6 per cent - below the rate of inflation.

She also adds the Island's basic postal rates are still cheaper than in the UK and Channel Islands.