A new sub post office opens in Blewbury today - 18 months after the village's previous post office closed.

Parish council chairman Dr Mike Marshall said it had been an uphill struggle to replace the post office at a time when village post offices were declining.

However, the closure of the previous sub post office at Prior's Stores came as a shock because residents were forced to travel to East Hagbourne and Didcot.

Blewbury's solution was to convert part of a flat-roofed extension at the village hall.

He said: "With a grant of £9,000 from the parish council, the building has been converted.

"Villagers have helped with the work."

Retired teacher Anne Scullard will run the sub post office, with two helpers, offering post office counter services and a community shop.