A courier who delivers critical medical supplies to Aberystwyth town centre says he is “struggling to get the job done” because of the ‘safe zone’ road closures.

Access to businesses in the safe zone - which have been in force off and on throughout the pandemic to aid with social distancing - has been described as “hit and miss” for many delivery vehicles.

And one courier, who did not wish to be named, said delivery drivers in Aberystwyth are “struggling to get the job done”.

He said: “Basically, the council told me that if you can’t get in before the safe zones start, it’s up to the people on the barriers whether they let me in or not.

“If not, there is access via other roads that aren’t closed, you have to park up and walk.”

The courier said he delivers around 30 to 40 packages a day in Aberystwyth and the immediate area, including critical medical supplies, but also delivers further packages to Borth, Ynyslas, Bow Street, Penrhyncoch, and Clarach.

Ceredigion County Council said that “where possible” deliveries should be arranged for before 11am or after 5pm and, when not possible, they will be granted access to “part of the town where a 5mph restriction will be in place”.

However, the courier said it takes about two hours for him to get to Aberystwyth in the morning.

The safe zones, which were first introduced last year, were reintroduced for the Easter holiday and likely to return this summer. Permission for them has been granted until February 2022.

Owner of Cactws clothing shop in Aberystwyth, Gary Pemberthy said: “When safe zones first came in, there was no consultation with the businesses from the council, but we were told there would be no disruption.

“This is clearly not the case, there is clearly widespread disruption. Even Royal Mail are having issues.”

He added: “A lot of the time it’s hit and miss with who lets them in. We had a delivery from a larger wagon, and for five days they claimed they couldn’t access or get to our shop.”

Gary said it is particularly detrimental for his other business, Watch Obsession, which is based above Cactws but functions entirely online and Gary said he struggles to send products to customers, or receive deliveries for both businesses.

“It’s unfair really considering everything that everybody has gone through these past 12 months,” he said. “We’ve just reopened and then we’re having these knock-backs.

“On the whole if they can’t deliver, they’re just being told to put ‘denied access’ and off they go.”

A spokesperson for Ceredigion council said they have had “very few messages” regarding the issue and encourage others to get in touch. They said: “The council does make provision for deliveries, that is clearly spelt out in our guidance and we’ll remind operatives of this. If delivery drivers do have issues then they should contact our contact centre so that the appropriate service can investigate the issue and address it directly.”

They added that anyone who has concerns about the safe zones are advised to visit their website or call their contact centre.