The cost of sending a letter in Jersey is going up from next month.

A local letter is rising by 2p to 56p, with the price of sending a letter elsewhere in the British Isles going up from 74p to 82p.

Sending letters further afield could cost as much as £1.75 depending on the destination - a rise of up to 45p compared to last year.

Jersey Post says the increase is down to growing international costs, a 14% drop in mail volumes, and the fees it has to pay the communications regulator - the JCRA - going up by 250% in the last 12 months.

Niall McClure, Jersey Post's MD of Postal and Logistics, says the company tries to keep prices as low as possible.

"We remain committed to keeping costs low wherever possible. However, we have seen some of the most unprecedented changes to the international trading landscape for quite some time which has been reflected in our pricing.

"During the last two years, we have supported islanders and businesses by delaying our price review by six months in 2020 and not increasing local-to-local postal tariffs in 2021."

The company says it expects the number of letters being sent to continue declining by a further 11% this year.

The new charges come into force on Friday 1 April.