A DELIVERY service which has a main hub at East Midlands Airport has confirmed it is ready to step in for the Royal Mail should strike action go ahead.

Earlier this week, postal workers voted three to one in favour of action, with 61,623 out of 80,830 workers who voted saying they wanted to strike.

The company and unions have been unable to resolve differences on how best to modernise the postal service.

Businesses in Derbyshire, particularly small firms who rely on the postal service to get their goods out to customers, have expressed their concerns – particularly with Christmas on the horizon.

But international delivery firm DHL Express, which has one of its main hubs at East Midlands Airport, has confirmed it is ready and able to cope should Royal Mail staff hold a national strike.

A spokeswoman for DHL said: "We always see a surge in volumes at this time of year, so it's hard to say at the moment whether there's been an uplift as a result of the localised postal strikes.

"But if we were to receive an uplift due to potential national postal strike activity, our experienced network is ready for it and can cope with demand."

If the strike goes ahead, there are fears thousands of presents and cards in Derbyshire will not be delivered in time for the festive period.

Kate Henning, who sells retro sweets at her shop in Willington, said she receives a lot of orders through her online business Retro Tuckshop Sweets Direct.

She said the proposed strike would have severe consequences for her business.

"It certainly is a worry," she said. "I use Royal Mail for around half my online orders. This is an important time of year for the business with Halloween and Christmas coming up.

"I'll wait to see what happens. If the worst comes to the worst, I'll put the orders in the back of the car and deliver them myself."

The union will have to give seven days' notice of a strike, raising the threat of industrial action across the country by the end of the month.

The stoppage will add to the existing backlog of tens of millions of postal items caused by a series of walkouts staged weekly since June around the UK.

As a result, the Royal Mail has already lost a lucrative delivery contract with shopping website Amazon while many web-based businesses have said they will simply use other delivery firms during the national walkout.