THE Royal Mail has made a first-class appointment witha new operations manager for the Bury area.

Forty-six-year-old Simon Webb has taken over from Roy Hall, who has retired after 37 years' service.

Mr Webb will be responsible for mail processing, collections and deliveries in Bury, Bolton, Wigan, Leigh and Skelmersdale.

Born in Hampshire, Mr Webb joined the Post Office aged 16 as an engineering apprentice in Portsmouth.

He moved to Aberdeen in 1990 as technical services manager responsible for Post Office buildings and equipment in north east Scotland.

In1999 he moved back to England to head up a project aimed at introducing new ways of working in delivery offices and mail centres across the North.

"We have to deliver the best possible customer service," he said. "In the second half of the last financial year we were generally hitting our targets and I want to make sure we build on that improving trend. "

Mr Webb lives in Warrington.