Awaiting the last post

Sub-postmasters and postmistresses are on tenterhooks to see how the Department of Trade and Industry's review will affect them.

RACHEL FITCH spoke to three post office workers, who wrote diaries of their average day to show which important services would be lost under the Government's cull.

Morgan Nahid Mill Road Post Office, North Lancing

I've worked in a post office for seven years and it's the best job I've done.

I've been a nurse and worked in a school but this is the work I like best because you get to do all sorts of things.

The people you meet can be elderly or younger people.

I start work at 9am and work all morning and then I have a break for an hour between 1pm and 2pm and finish at 5.30pm.

I mostly do banking, eBay postage and currency and nearly everything the main post offices have, except passports and car tax. Hopefully I will get this added on to my services in the future.

There is generally a steady stream of people coming in, though some days are quieter than others.

My customers have become my friends and my husband and I are always hearing about what's going on in people's lives.

We've been to several funerals of customers who have died and who we had got to know as friends.

It would be a sad thing if we were forced to shut.

Two years ago I upgraded my post office and changed everything to make it a brighter and cleaner environment. I invested a lot of money in it and had help from the Government with a grant.

I'm not 100 per cent sure I'll be safe in this review but my instinct feels I'm going to be okay.

It would be very inconvenient to a lot of people if we had to close. It's my business and if it were to go, it would be a massive change in my life.

I love my job and have put a lot of effort into this business and getting to know it.

It seems selfish for me to say I want to stay open because post offices elsewhere will be forced to shut but I do hope I stay open.

Martin Ellison Islingword Road Post Office, Brighton

I've been a subpostmaster for 36 years and I still enjoy my work, although the job is far different today.

Like many of my colleagues, I have a small shop that runs in tandem with the post office - one helping the other. It would be difficult these days to run a standalone post office.

I'm not a newsagent so my day does not start early but I like to be at work in plenty of time. There is always something to do, prepare tills, log on computers and more.

Customers like to be early and the first start to arrive about 8.30am, sometimes earlier, so by the time we open at 9am there is a queue.

We are fortunate at Islingword Road that over the years we have built up a large and loyal customer base. Seldom are we left with no one at the counter.

Many customers visit the post office more than once a week. Some visit every day and you could set your clock by them.

Lots have more than one thing to do on their visit.

Bill payment is an important part of our work and being able to budget and pay utility bills weekly is so vital for those on limited or low income. It's so convenient for anyone to pop in and pay their bills as they receive them.

Mornings are largely taken up paying pensions, customers using their Post Office Card Account or drawing from their bank account.

The Post Office has arrangements with a number of banks to allow free cash withdrawals. Every bank has at least one account that can be accessed at post offices.

The day is never boring. One person may be collecting their pension or doing banking and the next customer could be buying stamps. We deal with lots of eBay customers and people buying euros or dollars or ordering a more exotic currency for collection the next day.

Afternoons start a little quieter but we are always aware of the time as Royal Mail makes three collections between 2pm and 5.20pm.

Businesses come in with their mail at the close of day, so the last hour can be busy.

When the day is over it's worth it and I still get a buzz when it goes to plan.

As to the future, who knows? Every post office is important to the community it serves but sadly a lot are underused and some will close.

Leesa Smart Church Street Post Office, Seaford

The staff arrive about 8.30am and we prepare the office for opening by getting tills out, checking stock and cash and filling display material.

We are usually busy from as soon as we open at 9am and our other busiest times are at lunch and between 4pm and 5.30pm.

The rest of the time we are completely empty.

We close the doors at the end of the day, cash up and lock up.

There is a huge range of products and services we offer.

We have the Post Office Card Account and a group of people gather early on Mondays before we open for a chat. They call themselves The Monday Club.

We offer personal banking for the major high street banks and banking for local businesses like The Old Plough and The Wellington pubs, Cameron and PB pharmacies, Happit and Big Kids toy shop.

Since Royal Mail changed posting fees from weight to size and weight, we have a number of people a day who just need us to check the size of their letters.

The strangest items we have had posted are a fish and a man once dismantled his car and posted it off in pieces.

We provide National Savings and investment accounts, fishing licences, foreign currency, car tax, Brighton and Hove supersaver tickets and gas cards and electric keys.

People can pay their utilities bills here.

Hazel, Linda and Angie have worked here about ten years, Louise and me about six years and Mary two years. We are very familiar faces and know a lot of customers personally.

We need to stay open because we are vital for the local businesses and offer a range of services under one roof.

People complain about having to go elsewhere for their TV licences. Imagine how difficult it would be for them to tax their cars, post their Christmas parcels and collect their pensions without the post office.

What do you think about the closure of local post offices? Have your say below.