PORTON will be left without a Post Office when the current counter shuts next month.

From 5pm on February 8, the counter in Budgens, on Winterslow Road, will be closed until a replacement operator is found.

The news comes after the Post Office confirmed the postmaster had resigned.

For people needing post office services, the nearest alternative will be a van that stops a mile away, in the Winterbourne Dauntsey recreation ground car park, from 1.45pm to 3.45pm on Tuesdays and between 11.30pm and 1.30pm on Fridays.

It offers all the same services, including banking, bill payments and car tax renewals, and also stops in nearby Downton and Newton Toney.

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A Post Office spokesperson said: “We are writing to inform you that, regrettably, following the resignation of the postmaster the above branch will be closing temporarily.

“I would like to assure you that we are working hard to keep any period of closure to a minimum and we are currently investigating the options available which will enable us to reinstate a Post Office service to the local community.

“In exploring this, it is important that any future service is sustainable for the person operating the service, and for Post Office Limited.”

A previous statement said: “The post office branch had been a physical presence in the shop for more than 40 years.

“A notice, written by the Hobbs family, owners of the Budgen store, reassured customers that the shop would remain, but that ‘it is with regret’ that the post office branch, ‘no longer viable’, mentioning the rise of online transactions and alternative courier firms.

“The shop will still be accepting Amazon and UPS parcels after February 8.”