Currys has stopped using Royal Mail due to strikes

Currys has stopped using Royal Mail for parcel deliveries "for now" following a wave of strike action at the postal services firm.

Alex Baldock, chief executive at the electronics retailer, said Currys used Royal Mail for "relatively few, smaller parcels".

The business was "easily switchable", he said.

Royal Mail itself has brought forward the last Christmas posting dates in response to the strike action.

Deliveries are likely to be delayed around the days Royal Mail workers are taking strike action on 9, 11, 14, 15, 23 and 24 December, and some shops have advised shoppers to order early to be on the safe side.

Widespread strikes planned for December, at Royal Mail and in other sectors such as the railways, will have a particularly acute impact on retailers in the run-up to Christmas, their busiest time of the year, Mr Baldock told the BBC's Laura Kuensberg programme.

But he said the temporary switch to an alternative delivery firm would not cause additional problems.

"There's no great drama operationally for us. We plan for this sort of thing all the time," he said.

Workers at Royal Mail have already taken several days of action this year, calling for wage rises to keep pace with inflation, that reached 11% in October.

Mr Baldock said staff at Currys had enjoyed a 16% pay rise over the past year and nearly 40% over the past five years.

"I would love to say it is just because we are nice people, and of course we are, but it is also because we need to retain and motivate a workforce."

He said Currys' staff needed a high level of expertise in order to help customers and the higher wages were the price they were paying "for the right talent".

Nick Landon, chief commercial officer at Royal Mail, said the Communication Workers Union (CWU) was "holding Christmas to ransom".

He said Royal Mail had contingency plans in place to "keep communities, businesses and the country connected".

"We apologise to our customers for any disruption and delay that the CWU strike action is causing. We ask our customers to post early for Christmas to help us deliver Christmas," Mr Landon said.