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Guernsey Post has announced the introduction of new measures to combat a rising amount of underpaid postage.

From Monday, unpaid letters and packages will be held at the post office at La Vrangue, St Peter Port, until they have been paid for.

George Jennings, the company's director of operations, said: "Every day we receive items with no postage at all."

He said: "We don't believe that customers who pay the right amount should have to subsidise this."

Mr Jennings refused to specify the amount of money the problem was costing Guernsey Post.

"I wouldn't like to put an exact figure on it," he said.

"But we've decided that now is the time that we've got to insist that people pay the correct postage."

In future, he said, the intended recipient of local post will be sent a card informing them that it will be held at Envoy House.

They will then have 90 days to collect it and pay a charge on the item before it is destroyed.

The charge will be twice the amount underpaid, plus a £1 administration charge.

In the case of underpaid mail addressed internationally, it will be returned to the sender without charge and with notification of what the correct amount of postage should be.

Guernsey Post also asked that senders should include a return address, so that they can be contacted as well.