ROYAL Mail is set to open a temporary parcel sort centre in time for the Christmas rush.

The centre is being set up to sort a significant proportion of the seasonal parcels Royal Mail handles.

It comes as, last year, Royal Mail handled around 149 million parcels during the extremely busy festive period.

Several other centres will open up across the UK.

Overall, around 2,700 seasonal workers will be based in the centres.

The Scots centre is based in Bathgate.

Staff will support Royal Mail’s 120,000 permanent postmen and women.

Royal Mail Group is taking on 23,000 seasonal workers in total this year across all its operations.

The postal service company has set up a dedicated website for people to apply for the Christmas positions.

Competitive pay rates are offered at all sites along with a flexible range of shifts, and for those who want to work flexibly or less than 20 hours a week.

To apply, head to christmasrecruitment.royalmailgroup.com, or emai Christmas_helpline@royalmail.com. Alternatively, call the automated helpline on 0345 600 1785.