A FORMER long-serving Forest postmistress claims demands that village post offices make around £4,000 a week are "ill thought out" and will not benefit locals.

Barbara Terry has been at Blakeney Post Office for 37 years but her son Richard has been running it full-time for the last decade.

They have started a petition to keep the post office open – a situation that echoes that of Newnham Post Office.

She said: "I'm currently exploring the original contract to see if there is a loophole.

"We have around 125 signatures on our petition and the fight to stay open has taken its toll on my health.

"I would like to become a community post office, like Westbury, but I can't see how I can compete for the same trade as the convenience store next door and turnover £4,000 a week.

"I think it is an ill-thought plan that will not benefit the Post Office or the community."

Last week the Review reported the concerns of Newnham postmaster Cyril Barnes about the plans.

The Review contacted all five parties contesting the Forest of Dean seat in tomorrow's (Thursday) General Election and four responded.

Tom Marshal-Andrews, for the Green Party, said: "We stand firmly against this gradual erosion of rural life for dubious commercial gain."

UKIP parliamentary candidate Steve Stanbury added: "We agree that to remain viable, local post offices need to try and diversify.

"However, if a village post office can't do this, and struggles to attract enough extra business, it is appropriate for the government to provide a direct subsidy, via the Post Office centrally, to keep small village offices open."

Conservative candidate, Mark Harper said: "I have already written to the chief executive of the Post Office on Cyril's behalf raising his important concerns about their proposals."

Labour candidate Steve Parry-Hearn said: "I would accept that diversification is key to economic success, but to impose unrealistic transaction targets where the possibility of footfall is finite is clearly inappropriate and unreasonable."

Nationwide the investment programme will see up to 8,000 branches modernised with additional investment in over 3,000 community and outreach branches.

A Post Office spokesman said there were no plans to close Post Offices but they had to be commercially sustainable and the best way was to ensure post offices were part of a thriving retail business.