The pair whose post office outlasted their marriage

Phil Dolby and Karen Woodward bought Crich Post Office in 1984

A man and woman are celebrating 40 years of running a post office together - despite getting divorced during their tenure.

Phil Dolby and Karen Woodward took over Crich Post Office in Derbyshire in 1984 - a year after they got married - and remain business partners, even though their marriage ended in 2004.

The pair said they were still good friends and that having two daughters, Katherine and Elaine, meant it was "ideal for them to both be around".

Mrs Woodward said: "We have always been a good team, and running a post office is too busy to have any friction together."

The pair recently received an award from the Post Office in recognition of their long service

Mr Dolby, 69, said they met while he was posted in Cyprus with the Royal Corps of Signals, part of the British Army, in 1981.

He was introduced to Mrs Woodward, 66, through her brother-in-law, who was also in the Army.

"Karen came out on holiday and I escorted her around the island and got to know her," said Mr Dolby.

"When I went back to England, I vaguely remembered her address so I went to Doncaster to see her, we continued to speak and ended up coming here, got married and had a family."

Mrs Woodward, who has since remarried, had been post office trained in Doncaster, and Mr Dolby wanted to start his own business.

"We heard there was a post office up for sale in Crich, so we said we would have a look," said Mrs Woodward.

"It's a nice village to work in. It's a beautiful area and our children grew up here, so it's been great."

During the 1990s, Mr Dolby, Mrs Woodward and their daughters - who are now in their 30s - featured as extras in the ITV drama, Peak Practice.

Despite their post office being regularly featured on the show, Mr Dolby appeared not as a postmaster - but as a fireman.

More recently, the pair have won awards for taking up various voluntary roles in their community.

Side by side

They were also recently given a long service award by the Post Office.

Mr Dolby said the pair served "a thousand people a week".

"As a two-counter post office, we have always worked side by side and got our heads down to serve all these people," he said.

Mr Dolby said they had both "thoroughly enjoyed" running the post office together.

"When a marriage ends, it's a difficult time but we worked through that and it's all worked out very well," he said.

"Forty years has flown by in the blink of an eye, and we are hoping to retire soon. We have done our stint."