PEOPLE living in an isolated south Shropshire village are fighting to have postal services in a convenience store.

Post Office Ltd has provided an outreach service from the Post Office at Spar in Craven Arms for several years, giving customers access to Post Office services two mornings a week in the community shop, but this ceased in December.

Philip Dunne MP is calling on Post Office Ltd to resume the service for local residents.

“I visited Lydbury North Community Shop to offer local residents my support in getting the Post Office to source a replacement provider, to restore services in the shop,” he said.

“The Post Office also needs to ensure adequate IT support to whoever takes on the service, which I understand has been a problem last year.

“Being able to access the Post Office is clearly valued by the community, not least in allowing pensioners to access cash in the village. I am supporting the hard work of the Chair and volunteers of the Community Shop, so I have already contacted Post Office regional management to ask they do all they can to reintroduce services as soon as possible.”

The loss of services such as Post Offices and banks has been a major issue of concern throughout Ludlow and south Shropshire as well as in Tenbury and the Teme Valley where a branch of Barclays Bank closed earlier in the year despite the protest of West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin. Banks claim that demand for branches is declining because of an increase in the use of internet banking and other on-line services

It is also not clear wheat will happen to long term Post Office services in Ludlow.