Villagers disappointed over post office closure

Jenny Disbery says Roughton is a "forgotten village"

Residents of a Norfolk village which now has a post office service available for just one hour a week have labelled the closure of the permanent service a "big loss".

The post office on Norwich Road, Roughton, near Cromer, closed on 7 January, and it has been replaced by a mobile service that is open between 15:00 and 16:00 GMT on Thursdays.

Local resident Jenny Disbery said: "Especially with the loss of banks in the area, it's going to be a big loss."

A Post Office spokesperson said the previous operator had "recently resigned and withdrew the premises".

A mobile service will visit Roughton for an hour each week

Ms Disbery, who has lived in the village for nearly 25 years, said: "It's such a shame. It's a forgotten village, as a lot of the little villages are.

"We are losing a service and it's just not fair."

She said those most likely to feel the effects were older customers who relied on the post office for their pensions and banking.

Pam Sinclair used the post office to withdraw her cash

There are still full-time post offices in Cromer, but Roughton resident Pam Sinclair, an "avid letter writer", said she was very disappointed at the closure.

"What we can't do in the bank we were able to do in the post office, so it's both services that we miss," she said.