RESIDENTS have been assured another post office will open in their village - but when is the million-dollar question.

Elmstead Market Post Office closed suddenly for what has been described as operational reasons at the end of July.

A spokeswoman for the Post Office said she could not confirm when the branch will reopen inside the Spar shop at Colchester Road.

Neither would she expand on what were operational issues were involved in the closure.

She said: “We are still working hard to try to restore Post Office services to the area as quickly as possible.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this temporary closure.”

Paul Beard, who is the chairman of Elmstead Parish Council, is also being kept in the dark but says Harwich and North Essex MP Bernard Jenkin, has also got involved.

He said: “It’s all up in the air in regards to the truth of what’s happening.

“Our village has an ageing population, so it’s already affecting people and those same people will have difficulty going to Wivenhoe, Colchester, or Alresford, or wherever another post office might open in the event ours closes down for good.

“As a council we’ve recently written to the Post Office asking for an update so hopefully we get a response.”