We don’t want village to be without a P.O.

One of Britain’s first post offices was forced to shut down earlier this month after 224 years.

The closure has resulted in the loss of a Dorset village’s only cashpoint, leaving residents to travel the three miles to Lyme Regis to use a cash machine.

Steve Pile and his wife Gill, both pictured right, say they were told in 2013 by Post Office Ltd that they must downsize their business in Charmouth and move to premises in another shop.

The couple described the decision as illogical, saying the local population of 1,300 was enough to sustain a full postal service.

‘We don’t want to leave the community without a post office, we are the heart of the village,’ said Mr Pile, 70.

‘You get to the point where you fight and carry on or give up. It was affecting me physically and mentally so we decided to retire. Fortunately we own the building so we sold to a new tenant.’