A new Post Office branch is to open in Carlton Colville more than five years after the previous one closed.

The branch will open in Bains Store in Harrop Dale on February 24 at 1pm.

Julie Hall, chairman of Carlton Colville Town Council, welcomed the news.

She said: 'It is something we have been trying to get for quite some time and our previous chairman Jill Tyler had done a lot of work into it.

'We had several meetings with the Post Office at the time and they said no way will you have a post office because there were branches in Kimberley Road and Pakefield.

'Their business model has changed now and that has opened up an opportunity to have a post office back in Carlton Colville.'

The former Carlton Colville Post Office closed more than five years ago when the owners wanted to retire and is now a private house.

Mrs Hall added: 'It is needed. It may have been located in Harrop Dale because there are future plans for more houses for the Bloodmoor estate. It is not central to the old village though, which I think some people would have welcomed a bit more.'

Post Office services will be offered at Bains Store from a low-screened, open-plan Post Office counter that is integrated into the retail counter, enabling customers to carry out Post Office transactions alongside retail purchases.

Matt Hatfull, Post Office network operations advisor, said: 'We recognised the gap in our existing Post Office branch network and are delighted to be opening a brand new local branch, with extended opening hours and a Sunday service, to meet the needs of the community.

He added: 'We are confident that this vibrant, new-style Post Office at the heart of the local community will meet customer needs.

'This modernisation is part of a major investment programme, the largest in the history of the Post Office.'

Post Office services will be available seven days a week throughout the opening hours at Bains Stores, which are from Monday to Saturday, 8am to 8pm and on Sundays from 9am to 8pm.