A post office forced to close due to lack of counter space was full of overjoyed customers when it re-opened.

But while Baildon Post Office owner Kareem Sweiss said he was delighted to be trading again yesterday, he warned that the same problem could arise in a fortnight unless Post Office bosses make an exception for the Westgate shop.

“The next two weeks are crucial, otherwise there will be a serious dilemma again and we may still have to close,” Mr Sweiss said.

He met Post Office executives on Friday who promised to try to help solve the problem of Mr Sweiss’s counters which are 10ins too short to meet new regulations.

He has a deal lined up to sell the business as a working concern – a deal which will collapse unless the Post Office grants dispensation and continues the terms of Mr Sweiss’s contract for the new owner.

He said: “The new buyer is ready to go, all the paperwork is done and he has money in place. After a fraught few months we need to get it sorted and then the Post Office can continue to operate and serve people of Baildon.”

Mr Sweiss said he had hated shutting the shop and was overjoyed to have his customers back.

And as he spoke, passers-by stopped to pat him on the back and wish him luck.

Retired cook Margaret Hall called to post a letter and said: “I’m so pleased – we’re very fortunate to have it.”

Housing association executive and lifelong Baildon resident Vicky McVeagh, of Hardaker Croft, popped in to exchange some euros and said she was relieved it was back up and running. “I thought it was ridiculous for a town not to have a central post office,” she said.

Elaine Chamberlain has lived in Baildon for 35 years and said it was excellent to have the shop open again: “So much has disappeared – I’m very pleased,” said the retired college tutor, of Somerset Avenue.

Mr Sweiss said he was now had to wait for the Post Office to come back with its decision.

“The executives I spoke to were very positive,” but obviously I have some degree of caution,” he said.