BUCKLAND Monachorum Village Hall Committee last week stepped into the breach in an effort to save the village post office, which is due to close next month.

Following a packed meeting in Buckland, attended by more than 100 residents, the committee has agreed to work with the Post Office in an effort to keep a service going in the village, as least on a part-time basis.

Stephen Fryer, village hall chairman, said: 'The committee has agreed to make the premises available and I will be having a meeting with the post office to have a look at which room is suitable.

'The only thing is it's going to take a while so we are probably looking at a gap of a couple of months‚ unless a knight in shining armour comes in to buy the post office in the next couple of weeks.'

Mr Fryer said he thought many people attending the meeting were shocked to hear of the closure of the shop and post office. Although the hall could provide a temporary base for postal services, he was still keen to see a permanent solution to providing a post office and shop in Buckland.

'It's very much an on-going situation, but I think the feeling of the meeting was that the majority would like to see the restoration of our community shop and post office,' said Mr Fryer. It would be beneficial to hold another public meeting, to see if a community-run and financed shop project could be formed.

Colin Pound, rural network adviser for the Post Office, said: 'It was an excellent meeting. I came away feeling pretty optimistic.

'I got the impression that everybody wanted a post office and shop — although it's probably the shop that's going to be the problem.'

Mr Pound said if the village hall was chosen to be the base for the new post office, the next step would be to advertise for someone to run it — but getting premises was an important first step.

Elaine Simpkins, Buckland Monachorum parish clerk, said the council had examined the facts and figures in an effort to try and help keep the shop going, but thought ultimately it was unlikely it could do much to help, given its own financial constraints.

But the situation would be watched closely and the council would do all it could to assist the maintenance and even future expansion of the post office service in Buckland.

The present owner of Buckland Monachorum Post Office, Richard Salter, has been forced to put the shop on the market. He told the Times that he and his partner, Kathryn, had been unable to make a living from the business since they took it over in May and eventually had to make the decision to quit.

The shop, which is due to close on November 11, is being sold as a going concern by Mansbridge and Balment. The asking price is £225,000.