11:10am Thursday 28th May 2009
VILLAGERS who fought to keep a post office running are celebrating the appointment of a permanent postmaster.
Toppesfield Stores houses a counter which struggled to stay open after a previous postmaster, Jane Jervis, left.
Jervis, of Church Lane, Toppesfield, admitted stealing about £10,519 from the post office and was given a 12-month suspended sentence and a 100-hour community order in February.
Postmaster Catherine Clarke, from Hundon, and former Toppesfield postmaster Mike Bickers stepped in to run it three mornings a week.
But villagers will now welcome Trevor Cooper, from Halstead, who is to run the post office five mornings a week, from June 9.
MP Alan Haselhurst will visit for the official reopening on June 13.
Ann Read, chairman of the Toppesfield Stores’ Committee, said: “I did a huge publicity campaign to find a new postmaster and got 36 enquiries.
“We have kept the pressure on the Post Office to appoint someone, and it’s been a real cliffhanger.
“It’s such a relief.”
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