The villagers will be among only one per cent of the British population to be located more than three miles from a post office counter.

After six weeks of consultation, Post Office Ltd announced on Tuesday last week (August 19) that 37 branches detailed in the area plan proposal published in June will close Although the Weston Turville counter has been unofficially closed for some time, this move may be made permanent.

All changes are expected to take place by the end of 2008 and within six weeks the community of Weston Turville will know what their fate will be.

The post offices are required to meet the eligibility criteria set by the Government, which aims to ensure that 99 per cent of the UK population will either see no change to their existing branch or will remain within one mile by road of an alternative branch.

Unfortunately this is not the case for the villagers, as their nearest alternative post offices are nearly five miles away and elderly people without cars are talking about organising mini buses to get them to their nearest branch.

Cynthia Darbishire, 91, of Bromley in Long Marston, and her neighbour, Phyllis Proctor, 74 both use the post office to get their pensions and withdraw cash. They say they are at a loss as to what they will do without it.

The women have no means of transport so have no way of getting to Wingrave, their nearest designated post office. They already have to rely on family to take them shopping. This makes things even more awkward for Mrs Darbishire who is currently recovering from an operation.

"I cannot walk very far. It is the transport that is the issue", she said.

A disappointed Mrs Proctor, who has lived in the village for about 50 years and tried to start up a petition against the closure, was put off from doing so when she was advised that no matter how many signatures she had on the list it would only count as one objection.

She also described the village post office as part of the character and heart of the community. She said she finds it handy to pay her bills there as she does not like direct debit payments.

Mrs Proctor said: "It is the elderly that are going to be most put out. To even get a bus to Wingrave we have to walk about 15 minutes to get to the end of the village. People move here because it is a lovely village but now it is going to die."

Both the villages' shops with the post offices inside will close too. It is thought the stock is currently run down in preparation.

Vic Spratt, 76, of Tring Road has lived a few doors away from the Wilstone branch for over 20 years. Although he drives he says that with the hiking fuel prices the cost of going further afield will put him and others out of pocket.

Speaking about the closure he said: "It will affect the village dramatically. A lot of people meet there, this is something they will miss. There is a rumour that the Half Moon pub will close. That will be a disaster. Then it really will be the village without the heart."

Deputy leader of the council, Bill Chapple who contributed £1,795 to Weston Turville post office on December 2006, is most disappointed that it may close.

He said: "It will be very sad to see it close. It is very much part of the village as it is placed in the centre.

It serves the community around. Less than two years ago I gave some money to make it more disabled friendly because I know of the importance of what that post office means to the community.

"When you take such facilities away from a village such as closing the shop or a school residents become tremendously disadvantaged. Not everyone can get on the bus.

"Weston Turville has just been awarded the best village in Bucks. it is a lovely village with some wonderful people, they should not have this taken away from them.

"I hope the Post Office does consult the village. When you close a shop you cut off the life line of the village. It is far deeper than looking after your neighbours, people do things for each other and that is put in jeopardy.

"People making the decisions are probably more advantaged and they should think if it is was their village whether they would do the same."

A Post Office spokesperson said that the final decision on changes to the Post Office network in Buckinghamshire is in line with the Government's strict minimum access criteria and was scrutinised by Postwatch. They say they gave careful consideration to all feedback received as part of the six-week public consultation, paying particular attention to the needs of our most vulnerable customers.

During the six weeks local public consultation, Post Office Ltd say they received more than 2,500 responses and attended meetings with customers and representatives to understand the concerns of customers and to ensure that all information provided by customers formed part of the final decision regarding each affected branch.

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