Post office closure 'diabolical', residents warn

13 hours ago

George Carden,in Uckfieldand

Patrick Barlow,South East

News image — Horst Worz, from Uckfield, says the closure of the high street post office in the town is "diabolical"

George Carden / BBC A man in a coat with his hood up. He is looking into the camera. — Horst Worz, from Uckfield, says the closure of the high street post office in the town is "diabolical"

Residents of a Sussex town saying the loss of their local post office is "diabolical" and "ridiculous", with the branch set to be closed for about six months.

Uckfield Post Office shut its doors on Tuesday as a result of the closure of the TG Jones (formerly WH Smith) branch in the High Street, with alternative services remaining in Ridgewood and Five Ash Down.

Despite banking services moving to a new high street banking hub, a spokesperson said a replacement hub would take time to open.

A spokesperson for the Post Office says it "knows how important our products and services are to the local community".

Horst Worz, who lives in the town, said: "It's diabolical to do this.

"I go often and I like the over the counter people. It's much better than going online, and not everyone has transport."

Linda Castle added: "It's bad, particularly for older people who don't have transport.

"They are a fixture of the high street. I don't know why they are shutting it down, its ridiculous."

George Carden / BBC A building with large yellow signs in the doors reading "Everything Must Go". — Uckfield High Street Post Office closed on Tuesday after the TG Jones shop it was based in shut its doors

While banking services will remain in the banking hub, the closure of the site will mean residents will not be able to post parcels and letters in a high street branch as they would have previously, as well as exchanging foreign currency.

A Post Office spokesperson said it had advertised a vacancy and had received interest from potential new operators.

"We want to open a replacement branch as soon as possible, however this can take around six months", they added.

Earlier in August, 52 other post offices across the country were forced to close, including in Burpham in Surrey, when stores run by Morrison's shut their doors, blaming the closures on rising costs.

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