ROYAL Mail’s Christmas deadlines for sending items abroad in time for arrival before December 25 are fast approaching.

This Wednesday is the latest date to be able to send post to Cyprus, Asia, the Far East, eastern Europe, Turkey and Malta.

The latest recommended posting date for the Caribbean and Central and South America is Thursday, while for Greece, Australia and New Zealand it is Saturday.

To send items to the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Poland, the latest date is December 14, while it is December 15 for the USA, Canada, Finland and Sweden.

Closer to home, it is December 16 for Austria, Denmark, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Switzerland.

Then, it is December 17 for Belgium, France, the Republic of Ireland and Luxembourg.

The latest recommended posting dates in the UK are December 20 for second class mail, December 21 for first class, December 22 for special delivery and December 23 for special delivery Saturday guaranteed.

A spokesman for Royal Mail said: “Customers are reminded to post early for Christmas.”