St Breward Stores and Post Office officially opened on Saturday, July 15 with the help of former owners the Lusby family, who have handed the reins over to Darren Wills, landlord of the Old Inn, who has re-sited the shop alongside the village pub.

To mark the occasion there was food and refreshments immediately afterwards in the pub, and then an Irish group performed in the evening at the Old Inn.

When Denis Lusby announced his retirement from the village stores and Post Office, work began to find a new location, and the premises at the Row, St Breward, closed on Thursday, June 1.

To help restore the Post Office service, the St Breward Post Office was able to be opened at a new location on Monday, June 10 at the end of consultation about the move.

St Breward is a modern, new-style branch with Post Office services provided from an open-plan counter alongside the retail till.

Opening hours are 7.30am until 7.30pm from Monday to Saturday, and 9am until 5pm on Sundays. This is an extra 68 hours of service a week.

Sarah Cottrell, network operations area manager, said: “We are delighted to be able to restore a Post Office to St Breward and with much improved opening hours.

“During public consultation, we received two individual responses from customers and local representatives. Feedback welcomed the ease of access inside the proposed shop and the move to St Breward Stores, as it would keep a Post Office service in the local community.

“However, slight concern was expressed about the distance from the centre of the village to the new location, which is approximately 850 metres from the previous branch. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause, however, our priority is to safeguard Post Office services to the local community in the longer term.”