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Villagers disappointed over post office closure

Clare Worden/BBC A woman with shoulder-length brown hair wearing glasses. She is wearing a blue and white floral patterned top and a grey zip-up hoodie. She is looking at the camera and smilingClare Worden/BBC
Jenny Disbery says Roughton is a "forgotten village"

Residents of a Norfolk village which now has a post office service available for just one hour a week have labelled the closure of the permanent service a "big loss".

The post office on Norwich Road, Roughton, near Cromer, closed on 7 January, and it has been replaced by a mobile service that is open between 15:00 and 16:00 GMT on Thursdays.

Local resident Jenny Disbery said: "Especially with the loss of banks in the area, it's going to be a big loss."

A Post Office spokesperson said the previous operator had "recently resigned and withdrew the premises".

Post Office A red minibus that is a mobile post office. The outside of the van says "Mobile branch" and "Post Office" in white lettering. It also has the Post Office logo on it. The back door of the van is openPost Office
A mobile service will visit Roughton for an hour each week

Ms Disbery, who has lived in the village for nearly 25 years, said: "It's such a shame. It's a forgotten village, as a lot of the little villages are.

"We are losing a service and it's just not fair."

She said those most likely to feel the effects were older customers who relied on the post office for their pensions and banking.

Clare Worden/BBC An elderly woman with white hair wearing glasses and looking at the camera. She is wearing a mint green cardigan and is sitting on a grey chairClare Worden/BBC
Pam Sinclair used the post office to withdraw her cash

There are still full-time post offices in Cromer, but Roughton resident Pam Sinclair, an "avid letter writer", said she was very disappointed at the closure.

"What we can't do in the bank we were able to do in the post office, so it's both services that we miss," she said.

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