David Beckham’s deli saves Post Office in Burford

After newsagent Burford News announced it would close, Steve and Sally Colter of Mrs Bumbles stepped forward to keep Burford's post office service in the town.

However, as the costs of doing so continued to rise, the couple were faced with having to pull the plug on the project.

That’s when local resident Paul Miller stepped in, setting up an online fundraiser which raised £10,000 in just three weeks.

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Mr Colter said: “The closure of the Post Office was a fairly big thing for a small town like Burford.

“The costs were going up so we said that was enough and we couldn’t carry that financial risk.

“We’re thrilled that people have rallied round and we’re quite surprised really.

“It highlights how important a Post Office and newsagents is, a lot of people value the service.

“Sally has been really driving it, she does all the work in the shop and we’re very excited about getting this going.

“We’re at the age where we should be retiring but we’re starting something new instead.”

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Mr Colter said he and his wife hoped it would not be too long before the Post Office is up and running.

He said: “The application is at the last stage so at the moment, we’re going to run a temporary Post Office with an agent while it gets signed off.

“We’re hoping that by the end of February, there’ll be a fully operational, full-time Post Office for the building next door to Mrs Bumbles.”

Steve and Sally Colter of the Mrs Bumbles deli in Burford

Mr Miller started the fundraiser on GoFundMe on December 8 and by December 29, the £10,000 target had been met.

He said: “Steve and Sally decided a few months ago they wanted to take over the Post Office service and went through the processes, which were quite comprehensive, but things were going fine.

“But then they were told the fee would be higher than expected so I as a resident chatted to people about it and thought ‘hold on a second, maybe we can raise the £10,000 and help Steve and Sally’.

“I basically got people involved in the campaign, and set up the GoFundMe and distributed leaflets.

“I’d noticed that particularly in older people, they found it quite exciting and said the Post Office was important to them.

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“A lot of people found it something to focus on rather than the pandemic.

“It was a real community effort, I had a lot of interactions with people who just wanted to pull together.

“There’s so many things at the moment that we’ve had no control over so people enjoyed having this control over something.

“I’m still getting calls from people asking to donate and they’re upset they can’t.”

Mr Colter said the deli has been open every day since the first lockdown, with one customer in particular catching the eye.

Former footballer David Beckham. Picture: Instagram

“We’ve been the hub shop for the people in Burford along with the Co-op,” he said.

“David Beckham turned up last summer and put us on the map.

“He’s a very nice guy, it’s been very pleasant that he’s been calling in.”