Lizard postmaster Leonard Trott, 73, unable to retire despite deteriorating health as village faces threat of losing historic service

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Mr Trott and his wife Lynda say that because nobody has come forward to take on the service they will not receive a penny should they choose to walk away

A 73 year-old-man who has run Britain’s most southerly post office for the past 30 years says that he has been left unable to afford to retire despite his deteriorating health.

Lizard post office sub-postmaster Leonard Trott and his wife Lynda wish to retire after decades of serving the local community and have been promised an “acceptable” compensation package should someone else be found to take over the business.


But changes to the way post offices are funded mean they have for some time been unable to find a buyer for the business and if they walk away villagers will not have access to a full post office service.

Mr Trott, who is only the fourth sub-postmaster in The Lizard branch’s long history, said changes implemented by Post Office Ltd would effectively mean a 40% cut in his salary, meaning the service could not run independently.

He said: “The problem is they (the Post Office) are trying to close all traditional sub offices that rely on a subsidy to survive.

“The coalition Government decided to no longer subsidise these facilities and so the Post Office started relocating them into businesses which could support them. The plan ended on March 31 and there are around 400 what have been called ‘no solution offices’ in the country with nowhere to relocate to.

“I’ve been offered an acceptable compensation package, but unless a solution appears I’ll have to retire and won’t receive a penny.

“I own the building which is also a sorting office, and am caught between a rock and a hard place. I want to retire but can’t afford to and if I do I’ll be out of pocket.”

Mr Trott says he has continued to sign a ‘provisional notice of resignation’ but so far no solution has been found.

“As it stands, if I retire people in the Lizard won’t have a full postal service,” he added.

“So far they just haven’t been able to find anyone else to take it on as all the other shops in the village are seasonal. I’m finding it increasingly hard to run the business and want to retire while I still have the energy levels to enjoy my retirement.”

Mr Trott says the village post office service has become increasingly busy due to the closures of a number of banks and the post office in nearby Mullion.

“It’s an essential service for people living out here and the village would struggle without it,” Mr Trott said.

“More and more local businesses are now using our banking services and we have a lot of Mullion businesses coming to us.”

Post Office Ltd has suggested the branch, which first opened in 1898, could be taken on by an existing business, but so far no suitable candidate has been found that can meet the demands on staffing and opening hours.

The parish, perched on the extreme tip of the Lizard peninsula and with a resident population of around 1,000 people, has for years faced losing its historic service.

Post Office Ltd has previously proposed a van would call at the village two mornings a week if Mr Trott retired and no new premises was found.

A Post Office spokesperson has reaffirmed the company’s commitment to finding a way around the problem.

The spokesman said: “We understand how important our branches are to the communities they serve and we would like to reassure customers that we are committed to maintaining a Post Office in The Lizard. We are aware that the current Postmaster wishes to retire.

"The vacancy is currently advertised on our website http://runapostoffice.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and we are working hard to try to find a solution as quickly as possible.”