Post office returns to village after fraud case

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A community is celebrating the return of a post office to their village after losing the service three years ago.

Married father-of-one, Bahagat Singh, 23, opened a new Post Office branch within Rai’s Broughton Village store, Garstang Road, Preston, on Monday in a response to demands from local villagers.

Sub-postmaster Singh said: “A lot of the locals have been crying out for a post office in the village.

“We’ve had quite a good reaction to it since we opened.”

Mr Singh first worked in the store, a former clothes-shop, which opened two-and-a-half years ago before taking on the sub-postmaster role.

He said: “The community has really suffered since the post office down the road closed.

“There are a lot of elderly people who live in the village and as the bus service only runs every half an hour or every 45 minutes, it is difficult for them to get to other branches.”

The new branch is situated just yards from the former post office run by Jacqueline McDonald, who admitted stealing almost £100,000 from the Broughton post office.

McDonald, 45, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of theft and false accounting totalling nearly £100,000 and was sentenced to 18 months in prison in January 2011 at Preston Crown Court.

Though the mum-of-three stole a six-figure sum, she was ordered to pay back just £1 at a Proceeds of Crime hearing and was released after four-and-a-half months on good behaviour.

Preston Coun Tom Davies, who represents Preston Rural East, said: “It is brilliant news that we have got a new Post Office, we have been waiting for it for quite some time.”

Post Office spokesperson Liz Morgan said: “I am confident that the new site is the best way to restore services to the local community.

Customers will benefit from the extensive opening hours provided by the new retailer which is open Monday to Saturday 7:00 to 21:00 and Sunday 7:30 to 16:00.”

A wide range of Post Office services will be available including banking services, bill and budget payment schemes, Post Office card account, postage inland parcels, international letters, and printed papers.