VILLAGERS in Martinstown are celebrating after having their Post Office services restored.

The village spent nearly two years without a Post Office following the retirement of the previous subpostmaster and the closure of the village shop.

The shop was reopened before Christmas and now new subpostmistress Emily Trent has overseen the restoration of the postal services, with residents now able to benefit from extended opening hours.

West Dorset MP Oliver Letwin visited the Post Office for an official opening event.

He said: “I’m delighted this is up and running, it’s wonderful that the Post Office is not retreating.

“This new model where a shop is completely integrated with a Post Office offers real hop as it requires less staff and is therefore more viable.

“I think we do benefit tremendously from having a Post Office in a shop.”

The new Martinstown Post Office will be open from 8am to 6.30pm on weekdays, from 8am to 6pm on Saturdays and from 9am to 1pm on Sundays, meaning it will be open more than 30 hours a week – longer than its previous incarnation.

Subpostmistress Miss Trent said the reaction from local residents had been positive so far.

She said: “Everyone’s really excited about it.

“When I opened the shop the first thing everybody asked was if the Post Office was coming back so I couldn’t not do it really.

“It’s got a nice community feel and that’s what we wanted.”

She added: “Customers are very happy with the longer trading hours as the opening hours are much more convenient as they can now visit before or after work or school runs or call in at the weekend – whatever suits them.”

A host of local residents turned out for the official opening and their delight at the return of the Post Office was clear.

Villager Margaret White said the restoration of the post office and the shop was long overdue.

She said: “If you think how much it costs to keep going backwards and forwards to Dorchester when you only need a stamp, it’s crazy.”

Branch works part of wider programmer of investment

Senior stakeholder manager for the Post Office in the South West Laura Tarling said the restoration of postal services in Martinstown was part of a wider programme to bring more Post Offices back to local communities.

She said: “We understand how important having a Post Office is to residents in Martinstown and we are confident that this new modern Post Office service will meet the needs of the local community and secure services for the future.

“We are delighted to be re-opening this branch.”

She added: “This is an exciting time for the Post Office. This move is part of a three-year investment programme, the largest in the history of the Post Office, that will see around 6000 branches (about half the Post Office network) converting to new-style branches.”