The closure of Burton Fleming Sub-Post Office has left villagers saddened and disillusioned with the Post Office, which went ahead with the closure of the post office side of their village general store despite a massive campaign to keep it open.

Yesterday sub-postmaster Ryan Hedger, 60, and his partner for 23 years Mary Parkin completed packing up the post office side of their village general store.

Their hard work of building up the business during the past five years went into a series of self-assembly flat-pack cardboard boxes sent by the Post Office, together with a long list of instructions on how to shut the counter down.

The Post Office will not remove the glass and steel security screen in the corner of the store, so the couple are having to pay someone to take it down for them.

"We haven't had so much as a thank you from them," said Mr Hedger, who ran the post office counter service from 8am to 5.30pm with an hour's break for lunch, Monday to Friday, for villagers, local businesses and farms who used it for banking, and people from neighbouring villages like Rudston, Thwing, Wold Newton and elsewhere.

From today they will have to manage with a mobile post office outreach service two hours a day during the week, which will pull up outside the old post office.

Few are convinced it will be of any great use, a point they made during a long running and vigorous campaign to keep the village post office open.

It included petitions and letters to the Post Office and had the support of local East Riding of Yorkshire councillors and MP Greg Knight.

At one point they hit the national headlines following TV coverage of their fight.

"I don't know why they bothered to have a consultation about the closure. They did it anyway," said Mr Hedger.

Undaunted, he and his partner are determined to keep their newsagents and general store open.

They believe it can survive without the post office thanks to a loyal band of customers.

Since they knew the post office counter was definitely closing they have added a new line of freshly made sandwiches, and hot pies. When they get the old post office counter removed they will use the space for take-away teas and coffees.

"We are doing very well from passing trade. Tractor and combine drivers, farm lorries and others know they can park outside and buy something for their lunch," said Mr Hedges.

That should be good news for the village, which has already lost its pub, now the post office, and does not want to lose its village store.

Ryan and Mary say running the post office side was hard work and, while they mourn its passing, there is not a lot about it they will miss.

"All we ever got out of it was a Christmas card and 50 free stamps once a year," said Mary.

Local businessman Tony Gibson, who headed the campaign to save the post office, said the villagers had done everything they could think of to prevent the closure.

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