THE heart of a picturesque medieval village will be ripped out' if its Victorian post office were to close, say concerned residents.

Historical Beetham was listed in the Domesday Book, and its post office has been supplying occupants of the village with their stamps since 1881. However, this 127-year-old tradition has come under threat by postal chiefs who have placed the Beetham branch on their list of preferred closures, as part of a nationwide cost-cutting programme.

The post office also contains the only shop remaining in the village, and residents believe that should Post Office Ltd withdraw its business from the branch, the village would also lose its only convenience store.

Harry Parrott, of Slack Head, said: "I am a very concerned resident. It is the last shop in the village. If that goes it would rip the community apart.

"All the old people use it all the time. If they can't use it I don't know how they are going to manage.

"We need the shop. If they close the post office I don't think the shop would be able to last without it.

"It would rip the heart out of the community, everyone gets to know everything in the post office. That is where they sell tickets if there is anything going on in the village. It is the centre of everything in the village."

If the Beetham post office were to close then villagers would be forced to travel to use the post office in Milnthorpe. However, there are concerns that elderly people would find it difficult to make their way there.

Janet Ridley, of Beetham, said the community would suffer if it lost its only shop.

Lynn Wyse, who has been the sub-postmaster at Beetham for three years, said the future for her shop would be very uncertain if she lost the revenue provided by having the post office business removed.

Mrs Wyse is hoping people will sign the petition she has in the post office and write letters to post Office Ltd stating the reasons why their post office should be allowed to remain open.

RIGHT: Some of Beetham's residents who want to save their post office, back, from left, Harry Parrott, Peter Tompkinson, Ann Parrott and Robert Wilcock. Front, Mary Tompkinson and Lynn Wise, the sub-postmaster.

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