PEOPLE in Addingham are being urged to use their village post office as national bosses continue to debate the closure of 2,500 rural sub post offices.

Chairman of Addingham Civic Society Pete Severs has joined the village's sub postmaster, Andrew Dufton, in calling on residents to use the local branch to show how essential it is to the community.

Bradford Council leader and prospective Parliamentary candidate for the Keighley constituency, Councillor Kris Hopkins, recently warned that local constituencies could lose up to 12 post offices, according to projected figures.

Mr Dufton, who has been at the Addingham post office on Main Street since 1998, recently called through this newspaper for local people to make good use of the facilities, as the Royal Mail studies which post offices it will close. Moves such as replacing rural post offices with visiting mobile post office vans have been discussed.

Mr Severs said: "The fate of the village post office is still undecided, so I ask you all to support Linda and Andrew by using it as often as you can. Small businesses do survive in this village - the latest addition being the Olive Branch which has been up and running for 18 months and doing extremely well."

Mr Dufton was initially confident that the Addingham office would survive the cuts, as it offers many services, including motor tax renewals and passports.