Hundreds of undelivered letters have been found dumped in bags at two separate locations near Derry, prompting an investigation by Royal Mail and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

The first discovery was made on Wednesday by a member of the public on Mobuoy Road. The individual contacted SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan and handed over a bag containing an estimated 600 unopened letters.

A second bag of mail was found on Thursday afternoon by a woman in the Victoria Road area. Durkan said she had stopped at a layby to photograph a sunset when she saw a bundle of mail near the bank of the River Foyle.

Durkan described the incident as inexcusable and called for a full investigation. He said many of the letters appeared to have been sent by health trusts, government departments and banks, and were likely to contain confidential information.

He expressed concern that people may have missed important correspondence, potentially affecting their access to essential services. He said the letters contained information that people had been waiting for at home.

Royal Mail said its teams would work to recover and process the items so they could be returned to the postal network and delivered to customers.

Police received a report on Wednesday regarding the discovery of mail on Mobuoy Road. Follow-up inquiries led to the discovery and seizure of a further quantity of mail, and officers are liaising with Royal Mail.