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A village Post Office once supported by TV comic Vic Reeves has closed with immediate effect after staff faced an “excessive amount of abusive behaviour”.
The site in Charing, near Ashford, had been run by former parish councillor Sarah Crawley for six years but was hit hard in recent months by rising energy bills.
Mrs Crawley posted a notice in the front window saying “it is with deep sadness that the site will not reopen”.
She wrote how the high street business had not been financially viable for some time and “the Royal Mail strikes had decimated income at the busiest time of year”.
“Unfortunately, the last month has seen an excessive amount of abusive behaviour, due to situations out of our control such as the Royal Mail strikes and Post Office Ltd not supporting local branches,” she wrote.
“When faced with constant threats and abuse I have made the difficult decision that I cannot continue.
“I am not prepared to put my team in the line of this kind of behaviour.”
Mrs Crawley says the site’s electricity bill had become unmanageable and would have increased further in 2023.
“I have subsidised the Post Office for some time and cannot afford to do so any longer,” she wrote.
“The building which houses the Post Office is owned by the old sub postmaster; he has subsidised the business too. This situation cannot continue.
“For much of the last year I have been engaged with Post Office Ltd to try and find an alternative for the Post Office in Charing, this would have avoided a sudden closure and loss of service. Regrettably, there has been no viable alternative found.”
In recent years, villagers had fought hard to keep the Post Office, which was previously run by sub-postmaster Jonathon Brenton.
It was temporarily closed in 2016 following a lengthy dispute between Mr Brenton and Post Office officials over contracts, pay and security at the store following an armed robbery four years earlier.
Protests were held in the village, in which Reeves and his model wife Nancy Sorrell, who live in Charing, were among those waving placards supporting Mr Brenton.
A year later, Mrs Crawley began running the site and said at the time how she was “committed to the village”.
But she wrote in her statement: “The branch is now closed and it will be up to Post Office Ltd to provide a service that it is legally required to do.
“Over the last six years I have given everything I possibly could to keep this Post Office open, I value all the support given to me and my staff over time, most of all I will cherish all the memories made and the friendships created during that time.”
In a statement, a Post Office spokesperson confirmed the site had an “unplanned closure” on December 16.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” they said.
“Alternative branches in the area include Hothfield, Pluckley and Lenham.”
Last summer, the nearby Challock Post Office closed after the pandemic and a rise in online shopping hit its trade.
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