THE husband of a postmistress who took her own life after she felt pressure at work has called on the Post Office to review its target system.

Dawn Holt, 50, downed a lethal cocktail of drugs and alcohol after writing a suicide note mentioning pressure at the Faringdon Post Office, which she ran for four years.

She was found dead in her car outside Carterton Health Centre in Alvescot Road in April last year, with the letter on the passenger seat.

It read: “I am very sorry for putting you all through this, but no longer can I cope with life. The pressure at the Post Office over the last few months. I know you will all say I took the easy way out, but I could not think of any other options. I am so sorry.”

Last night, her husband of 30 years, Stephen, said he was angry at the Post Office for producing the targets, which he said contributed to her decision to end her life.

He said Mrs Holt’s ‘Branch Visit Agenda’, which stated what was good about the branch, and what needed improving, did not praise her enough.

It also detailed on-going issues and said Mrs Holt was £36,000 below the £200,000 target on foreign currency transactions.

An inquest into Mrs Holt’s death in September last year recorded she took her own life.

Mr Holt, 51, of Black Bourton Road, Carterton, said: “These were unreasonable targets. Faringdon is only a little market town and you would not achieve that foreign currency target in the main Oxford post office. It’s almost as if they have plucked the targets out of thin air. I want them to admit that their targets were too high. I think they should get rid of them.

“When I used to get up in the middle of the night she would still be awake and said she was worried about losing her job because of it.”

The Post Office wrote to Mr Holt on July 22 this year and said it was satisfied the local development manager had “acted reasonably and that there was no breach of duty on the part of Post Office Limited.”

It also said it had passed Mr Holt’s concerns to Martin McColl Ltd, as the firm was Mrs Holt’s direct employer.

Mr Holt, who is registered disabled with arthritis, said: “It’s the Post Office who wrote the form and the targets, they should not be passing it to Martin McColl. It is nothing to do with them.”

The Post Office said it would be inappropriate to comment on the case.

No one was available from Martin McColl Ltd to comment.