Campaign backed by Bill Nighy saves post office

Actor Bill Nighy stepped in to help save Felpham Post Office after writer Lizzie Mickery asked him to help

A village post office has been saved after a campaign backed by film star Bill Nighy.

The business in Felpham, West Sussex, was at risk of closure but has now been taken into community ownership.

Drama writer and former actress Lizzie Mickery, who starred in '80s TV show Tenko, runs the Friends of Felpham Community Interest Company, which has campaigned to save the post office.

The company was set up to raise money to buy the site when the current sub-postmaster announced plans to leave.

More than £70,000 was raised but between £800k and £1m was needed to buy and update the post office building.

An anonymous donor has also helped by providing an interest-free loan for an unspecified amount.

So, while the business will stay at its present location for the moment, it will move to a former betting shop in Grassmere Parade on 6 September, when there will be an official opening at 11:00 BST.

The new site will have a bigger shop, offer banking and postal services, and current staff will stay.

Ms Mickery, who wrote BBC One crime drama Messiah, said it was "fantastic" the post office had been saved, as a lot of bank branches had closed and it was a hub for Felpham.

"If you want to know what is going on in the village you go to the post office," she said.

Lizzie Mickery called the post office "vital" for the community

When post offices closed, she believed, villages died.

"We still have a huge amount of fundraising to do," she said.

Mr Nighy had urged people to help, saying previously: "If it's £5 or if it's £10,000 all of it will be gratefully received."

The star of Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead and Pirates of the Caribbean added: "Apart from the service, it provides somewhere where people can meet and gather, it becomes an important part of the community."

Ms Mickery admitted she had been "slightly tempted" to write a drama about saving the business.

"But everyone would be coming up to me and going, 'That's me isn't it? You've just been writing about me.'

"And I didn't think I could face that."

The Post Office said what the community had achieved was "fantastic".

"This is a real reason for the village to celebrate," said a spokesperson.