January 31, 2020 9.19 am This story is over 50 months old

Post Offices ‘in crisis’ as more Lincolnshire banks close

David claims that he only got paid a penny for four weeks of work
David Ward has owned the East Barkwith Post Office and shop for 45 years.

Rural Lincolnshire’s Post Offices are in “crisis mode” as more banks close and community shops earn “just a penny for four weeks of work.”

David Ward runs the Post Office in his East Barkwith shop near Wragby and Market Rasen, which he has managed for the last 45 years.

He is also the president of Lincolnshire’s National Federation of SubPostmasters and believes that many shops like his are “teetering on the edge.”

It comes as Lloyds Banking Group revealed that it would close two more of its branches in the county, including its last bank in Market Rasen.

David’s East Barkwith shop is the only one in the village and, even with banks closing nearby, he doesn’t earn much money through the Post Office.

The 50-year-old told Lincolnshire Reporter: “Sometimes we get just a penny for four weeks of work when we take in pre-paid parcels and letters.

“It feels like an insult to what we are doing for the community. Banks should be made to pay more when they are deserting the High Streets.

“Some think that we should be celebrating banks closing because more people will come to us, but they won’t. Banks close when nobody uses them.

“When I talk to other people running Post Offices they are teetering on the edge. We need to get the message out that people should use us or lose us.”