VILLAGERS in East Keswick are stepping up their fight to save their threatened village post office.
With just days to go until Post Office Ltd begins its official West Yorkshire public consultation, campaigners are planning to show their determination to keep the East Keswick branch open.
Campaigner Erica Smith said: "I've lived in the village f
or 10 years and there's no question that the post office is the heart of the village."
She added the village shop, where the post office is housed, would not be able to continue trading if the service was removed.
The list of post offices being considered for closure across West Yorkshire is expected to be released on Tuesday, when the public consultation opens.
Official plans showing changes to branches will mean 99 per cent of the population are within three-miles of a post office, with 90 per cent within one-mile of the nearest branch.
The closest alternative for East Keswick residents would be at Collingham, two-miles away, or Harewood, three-miles away if the East Keswick branch closed.
But villagers are still determined to keep East Keswick off the closure list and have vowed to do everything possible to prevent its closure.
With only 450 homes in the village, the strength of feeling was shown earlier this year when 800 people put their names on a petition last January.
Resident Melanie Smith has spearheaded the campaign by putting up signs bearing the slogan "use it or lose it" at both entrances to the village.
The tactic has already proved effective with a marked increase in trade at East Keswick post office and Mrs Smith is now calling on everyone who signed the January petition to continue the campaign.
Supporters say Diane Webb, who has run the post office for the past eight years, and her sister Hazel offer a lifeline to elderly and vulnerable residents.
Hilda Dobson, 93, who has lived in the village for 50 years, said: "I do all my shopping at the post office and grocery stores.
"I find it difficult to get on and off buses now so I couldn't get to Wetherby or Leeds."
John Priestley, chairman of East Keswick Parish Council, said: "After the loss of the school and surgery, the post office is the hub of the village and a vital lifeline to so many people.
"For most of our elderly residents, there is no realistic alternative should it close."
vicky.carr@ypn.co.uk
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The full article contains 423 words and appears in Wetherby News newspaper.
