Our postal service has received a barrage of criticism in recent months but supporters insist we are still getting a first class service . . .

IT'S 4am and all across Southampton posties are getting up for work. Scraping the ice off their cars, they travel along deserted roads, through the eerie, wintry stillness.

Pass through the doors of Bitterne's Royal Mail sorting office and it is a different story, as the busiest day of the year reaches its frenetic peak.

Two weeks ago the Daily Echo told how a bag of undelivered mail was dumped in the street because the temporary postie did not have a key to the drop-off point.

Had the Royal Mail been plunged into Christmas chaos? Was our post really safe?

Yesterday, I took a trip to look behind the headlines - and it was eye-opening, heart-warming and amazing.

A staggering 960,000 items of mail will pass through Bitterne's sorting office, in Centurion Industrial Estate, this week.

That is more than 130,000 Christmas cards, parcels and packages a day.

At 5am, the vast bulk of it is coming through the doors.

"This is what we call organised chaos," said delivery office manager Paul Murphy.

Everywhere were bundles of letters, crates of parcels and a baffling wall of compartments.

The man to show this bleary-eyed reporter the ropes was postie of seven years, David Parker.

"Most people think that we just come in, pick up our bags and head out on the round," said former decorator Dave, 52.

"They don't realise that we have to sort all our post first. It's not rocket science, but we work damn hard."

All 92 posties take a turn on the first stage of sorting, pushing bundles of post into holes on the central sorting rack.

It is from here that each postie - given a number for their own special route - collects his or her mail for the day. Then it is back to their own rack, or sorting frame, to place each piece of post in street name/house number order.

Dave, who has been delivering to his 533-home route for eight months, works speedily, his hands darting over the rack.

For me, it is somewhat slower.

"Meggeson even numbers on your right," says Dave. "Then one to 13 is over on the top left."

He pulls out a Christmas card for a couple in Meggeson Avenue, Townhill Park, without a house number in the address.

The road has more than 300 homes and it seems inconceivable that the card could ever reach its destination - but Dave says he will even go through the phone book to try to deliver it safely.

In fact, scores of the Christmas letters are badly addressed.

"This one is addressed to number 14, but I know the family live at number 16," said Dave. "In theory, I should deliver this to 16 and they'd have to send it back unrecognised.

"But because I know it's a Christmas card I'll just deliver it to the right home.

"You'd be surprised how many solicitors and hospitals put the wrong numbers on letters, but we get more at this time of year than any other."

He added: "I was chatting to one of my customers and she said she wouldn't get any cards this year, so I'm going to send her one. I'll send it on Christmas Eve though, so she won't feel she has to send me one back."

I am amazed by the care with which Dave tackles his job, which has altered drastically in the past few months.

Since the second delivery was scrapped in April 2004, posties go out later but do not return to the sorting office.

They work five days a week, from 5am until 2pm, rather than six days from 5.30am to 1pm.

Dave's round has stayed the same, but others have become longer.

"It is a repetitive job in a definite routine, but if you care about people's post you couldn't get bored," he said.

"I will do my utmost to make sure that people get their mail. Some people say they don't like getting post, but they're lying. Everyone does."

At the morning briefing, the Bitterne posties, who deliver to SO18, SO19 and SO14, are warned not to read addresses while they are walking along - for fear of bumping into lampposts - and told of a forthcoming bike inspection.

The "clear down" call comes from the four line managers and workers scramble to pick up the last bundle of "mis-sorts" from the central rack.

Some posties head to the canteen for a hearty breakfast of bacon and eggs - or even curry - at 7.30am.

Then, the "right of way" call is announced at about 8.30am.

That means all posties are allowed out on their rounds. Their work stations are cleared, the "pouches" (maximum weight 16lb) are loaded up, and they head off.

Dave, who faces more than 100 flights of stairs in his three-and-a-half-hour route, walks "purposefully but without running," he tells me as he sets off into Roundhill Close at 9.30am.

"This should take me until about 2pm - and if I have any letters in the wrong place I'll know who to blame!"