MICHAEL Hilton admits he was a little bit apprehensive about giving his job up as Farnhill's sub-postmaster.

He had been a busy man all his working life and was not the type to sit at home all day watching the world go by without him.

He needn't have worried - three days before his retirement, which would have meant the closure of the village post office, he got a desperate call from his employers.

They wanted to continue the service on a smaller scale in the village institute - and they needed someone to run it.

Now Mr Hilton has the best of both worlds - the job he loves in the morning, and retirement in the afternoon.

"The Post Office decided they must keep it going, and they assessed the institute and decided they could put it in here," he said.

"It's actually in the old boiler house, and they have revamped it and spent quite a lot of money on security and putting it in.

"The gentleman who was going to run it was taken into hospital and there was a bit of a panic. The post office approached me and asked me if I wanted to take it on and I decided I would give it a go."

Mr Hilton wanted to retain the morning hours of the shop and decided to open Monday to Friday. He added the post office's move to the institute had been a positive one for the village.

"A lot of people have said to me 'I do miss your shop', but I couldn't go on forever and village shops do not get the support they need to keep going. It makes me glad that I am fulfilling a service to people and still being useful," he said.

The new community service has not been without its problems.

Its security alarm has been activated by local Morris dancers banging their sticks on the floor, and the vibration from discos and other loud events.

But these minor problems have been ironed out and Mr Hilton said he would encourage other villages with ailing post offices to follow their example.

He added the post office was about to enter a difficult period with the introduction of electronic payment for benefits and pensions, and that people in the village appreciated having someone they could trust to explain it to them in person.

"I want people to know I am still here. I want people to know they don't have to worry because Michael's here to sort it out!" he said.