Post Office to overtake Tesco as biggest Sunday retailer in Britain

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Plans to revive Britain's ailing post office network will next year result in more branches being open on Sundays than Tesco stores or McDonald's restaurants.

The company said it was aiming to become Britain's "largest retail network open on Sundays" by the end of 2016.

More than 3,300 Post Offices now open on Sundays, up from 2,300 a year ago and 1,000 in December 2013.

That puts the Post Office second only to Tesco in terms of retailers doing business seven days a week.

Tesco said all of its 3,500 stores are open on Sundays, while all but one of Co-op's 2,800 stores are open. By comparison, McDonald's has 1,200 restaurants across the UK, all of which open seven days a week, and Costa Coffee has around 2,000.

The Post Office's drive to stay open longer is part of a major "modernisation" programme that began in 2012.

Kevin Gilliland, network and sales director at the Post Office, said: "We'll be working hard in the coming year to make sure customers across the UK, whether using branches to withdraw cash or pick up online shopping, have as easy access as possible to our services."

There are 11,634 Post Office branches across Britain, but the network is shrinking.

Over the past 30 years the number of has almost halved.

The Telegraph has for many years campaigned to save Post Offices from closure as they are a vital lifeline for rural communities.

Since 2010, around £2 billion has been made available by the Government to help secure their futures, with many now representing the last shop in the village.

This year 5,000 branches have been modernised, at a rate of 10 a day, delivering an extra eight million opening hours.

Retailers were first able to open on Sundays 21 years ago and Mr Gilliland said the service "has really come of age".

Research found that almost a third of people would be more likely to use post offices if they were open on a Sunday.

This figure rises to almost two in five 38 per cent for 25 to 44 year olds.

Among the post offices that have started opening on Sundays is Baltonsborough Post Office near Glastonbury.

As well as offering seven days a week access to Post Office services, the shop offers fresh home grown flowers and vegetables and has an on-site butchers.

Michelle Evans and James Debbage, who run the Green Pastures Plant and Farm Shop and post office in Bergh Apton, which has also started opening on Sundays, said: "We asked our customers if they’d like to have a Post Office here and it was a resounding yes, and especially to providing a Sunday service.

"The branch will be open seven days a week, alongside our shop and restaurant, so people can visit the Post Office at the same time.

"Sunday is our busiest day so we’re delighted to be able to offer this service to our customers."