THERE are hopes that the future of Bere Alston Post Office should now be safe, following a huge community effort to save the facility.

A packed public meeting in the parish hall last Thursday heard that £34,000 had been pledged by local people towards a community buy-out of the post office, which is currently up for sale.

A similar sum could be raised in grant funding by the Bere Peninsula Post Office Group (BPPOG).

The group had written to every household in the parish, asking for help and was also seeking further grants — a constitution had been set and bank account created for the appeal.

However, former postmistress Marian Gray told the meeting, to much applause, that partly because of the work to save the post office, a private buyer had come forward and an offer had been accepted.

It was hoped a clause would be included within the sale contract, guaranteeing the post office would continue for the next 20 years.

She had also been approached by two residents with a view to taking on the postmaster's role.

The campaign to save the post office began after a public meeting in the summer, when the property had been put up for sale and the postmistress had gone on long term sick leave. It had also been revealed that Bere Ferrers Post Office was also due to close, leaving Bere Alston PO the only full time facility in a parish serving more than 3,400 people.

West Devon councillor Mike Benson, a member of BPPOG, said the feeling of the meeting had been one of great relief following the news: 'Until the contracts are signed and exchanged, there's no absolute guarantee it will all go through, but I think it's unlikely to fail.

'The intention is that BPPOG will have a wash-up meeting in about six weeks' time, and hopefully by that time the contracts will have been exchanged.

'We did a hell of a lot of work in a limited period of time and I think everyone is quite pleased and certainly the community is relieved that it looks as though the post office will be secure for the foreseeable future.'