I REFER to the letter from Dan Panes of the Royal Mail Group Bristol (March 25) concerning collections from letter boxes in the Swindon area.

He said: "The notion that a letter posted at 9am will reach its destination any quicker than one posted just before the last collection is mistaken both pieces of mail are treated equally, and leave our mail centre at the same time."

I was present at a meeting in Swindon about 18 months ago, where the guest speaker was the delivery manager at the Swindon Post Office Sorting Centre.

He categorically stated in answer to a question from a member of the audience that "all second class mail is put to one side automatically and first class is concentrated on".

He went on to say that the secret of getting this mail delivered the next day was to post as early as possible in the day, and that a letter posted later stood far less chance of being received the following day.

This is in direct contradiction to the information contained in your correspondent's letter, and I wonder which is correct unless of course there has been a change in procedure.

Eric G Baker

Newland Road

Swindon