Thousands of items are being sent back to the UK in the post daily from Ireland, as the British postal service is refusing to do custom checks, the chief executive of An Post has said.

An Post CEO David McRedmond criticised the UK government for the post-Brexit crisis, which has led to a 52% drop in companies using the post to send deliveries between the UK and Ireland, and contributing to a collapse in postal trade between Britain and Ireland.

It has also forced An Post to return thousands of parcels to the UK, he said.

The problem is acute at this time of the year, when thousands of companies are relying on the postal service to fulfil Christmas orders.

In the letters section of the Financial Times, McRedmond said that the British postal service has a "responsibility to ensure trade is facilitated".

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"The UK Post Office has refused to implement the necessary systems to comply with the new EU customs rules that applied to the UK after Brexit. The UK government appears uninterested. Consequently at An Post, the Irish postal service, we have to return thousands of items daily back to Great Britain as they fail EU customs' checks," he wrote.

He added: "The level of disruption for SMEs [small to medium-sized enterprises] has caused many of them to simply not bother trading with Ireland, a full member state of the EU and where the EU customs rules have been introduced first.

"Trade from Great Britain to Ireland through postal channels has fallen by 52%."

McRedmond called on the UK government to "insist immediately that Post Office Limited implement the required procedures".

He warned: "If it is not too late - but it's already close to that for many SMEs - these steps could have an immediate and positive economic impact on the SME sector and the millions they employ, a sector regularly described by the government as the backbone of the British economy."

A spokesperson for the British Post Office service said it is now a separate company from Royal Mail, yet the Post Office has been unfairly included in the criticism by An Post.

The spokesperson said: "We have spoken to An Post regarding their concerns and reiterated that while many parcels that arrive in Ireland will never have been dropped off at a Post Office, our branches follow the custom label process set by Royal Mail. They collect parcels for onward delivery and are responsible for ensuring what they deliver is compliant with customs rules and regulations.

"Postmasters and their teams have much experience supporting customers face-to-face in our branches and have posters and guides on display to help customers complete the necessary paperwork.

"Post Office is working with Royal Mail to develop and improve the processes when it comes to sending a parcel to the Republic of Ireland."

A Royal Mail spokesperson said about the issue: "Customs authorities now require more detailed information to control the cross-border flow of goods. Royal Mail has invested significantly in enhancing the online posting experience for our customers.

"This process helps customers fill out all of the required documentation and classifications so that they can drop off their items at the Post Office if they wish.

"We recommend customers also take advantage of our Parcel Collect service where we print then deliver shipping and customs labels on our customers' behalf, as well as digitally transmit customs information to its destination for added convenience.

"For account customers we have also introduced Postal Delivery Duties Paid wherever it is available."

The EU and the UK still disagree on the implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which lies at the heart of much of the dispute.