THE PEOPLE of Northlew are being assured that a post office service will remain in the village despite a temporary closure next month.
The current sub-postmistress Pat Durston is 'reluctantly' resigning on February 28 and the Northlew's Post Office and Stores is going on the market.
But spokeswoman for Post Office Counters Pam Johns said this week the intention was the closure of the office would be temporary.
'The postmistress is selling the business as a going concern and hopefully someone will come forward ready to take on the post office when they buy the property,' she said.
'We realise this is a busy office with a large number of customers and we intend to keep the services going.'
Mrs Johns said the post office was being closed temporarily until things were sorted out and it would mean villagers would have to use Hatherleigh or Beaworthy post offices for the time
being.
'The loss of the post office in Northlew would cause considerable hardship and if for some reason the new owners do not want to continue with it we would look for someone else to come forward with alternative premises,' added Mrs Johns.
Mrs Durston, who has run the post office for six years, said she would be sorry to give it up and would miss the way of life.
'It is a great way of life for somebody who likes living in a village and being part of a village,' she said.
'The automation of the post office really precipitated me giving it up — my husband and I had been thinking about retiring anyway.'
Mrs Durston said she did not see the point of going through 'all the hassle' of learning the system when retirement was imminent.
If anyone is interested in finding out more about running a post office they can call the Post Office Recruitment Team on 0845 6016260.