RURAL businesses have been hit following the temporary closure of a post office serving communities in the heart of the Lake District.

Post Office Ltd confirmed that Elterwater Post Office is not currently functioning as a post office branch following an audit that has resulted in the suspension of the sub-postmaster. The shop part of the business remains open.

“The Elterwater branch is closed temporarily following an audit on August 22,” said a Post Office Ltd spokesman. “Subsequently, the premises were withdrawn for use by the landlord.

“The current postmaster is suspended pending further investigation. We are committed to resuming services in the area as soon as possible.”

The closure of the branch has come as a blow to those who campaigned hard to keep it open during the Network Change programme - which resulted in 19 post offices being closed in South Lakeland, Furness and Eden - and for those who rely on the service to run businesses and enterprises.

Nearby Little Langdale was one of those offices that closed after it was added to the closure list when a branch in Carlisle was reprieved.

Judy Worrall, who uses the post office daily to sell items on Internet auction sites, said she had been highly inconvenienced by the closure because she takes parcels to the office daily.

“It has affected my expenses, costing more petrol and time and frustration,” she said. “The fact is I, and others in the village, fought long and hard to retain our post office and now it has gone with the flick of a switch.

“People use it to get cash out because we are three-and-a-bit miles from Ambleside. Some people get their pensions from the post office.”

Jill Drakeley, of The Woolly Rug Company, which is based in Elterwater, said she was considering moving the business out of the village because of the inconvenience of not having a post office.

“It has been a real nuisance for us,” she said. “We have had to start messing about going down to Ambleside.

“We are thinking of moving now because it is not going to work for us. We are always hopping down with parcels to weigh. Now we have got to do it on a day off or whatever. It is just not good for business.

“I think Elterwater is just going to be a holiday village, with nowhere to post your postcards.”

The Westmorland Gazette contacted sub-postmaster Stephen Flower to give him the opportunity to comment but he declined.