POST Office users in Hagley have been handed a lifeline after it was agreed to replace the village’s temporarily closed branch with a mobile van.

West Hagley Post Office closed its doors last month and will not reopen again until next spring – a decision which left customers in the dark as to how they would access services in the meantime.

Initially the Post Office told residents they would have to travel to the Stourbridge or Kidderminster branches, but after being contacted by the “concerned” parish council, it was agreed that a mobile van would visit the village two days a week.

Councillor Steve Colella, chairman of Hagley Parish Council, said: “It really is a massive alternative for the village.

“When we were told that the post office was going to close, we knew we had to come up with a way people could access these vital services.

“There were many people who were concerned about having to travel out of the village, especially elderly people who would be carrying lots of money on the bus to either Stourbridge or Kidderminster.

“We had to do something which would allow local people to access the services in the village, so I am very pleased that the post office agreed to our proposals and we have got the van here.”

The mobile Post Office van will be situated on The Station Inn’s car park each Wednesday and Friday between 10am and 3pm.

Georgina Jackson, landlady of the Worcester Road pub, said: “We were asked if we would have a van on the car park for a couple of days a week, and we were more than happy to have it.

“We just wanted to give something back to the community and during the last few weeks it's been here, it has been a great success.

“Many people have told us about how much of a struggle it would have been to travel and although it’s a shame that our post office has gone for a few months, we hope that the van will provide a good alternative.”