Village post office may be forced to close

His village business is among them.

Pension books and giro cheques which can be cashed at the post office are being replaced with direct payments into bank accounts, meaning sub-post offices nationwide will lose a massive chunk of their income.

Steve Fenton said: "If we lose our custom from pensions there is no viable business here. It's about 80 per cent of our income. Worst case scenario we could lose 1,300 pension customers a week. That would be crippling. We're very worried. We're looking down the barrel of a gun."

The only lifeline for post offices and customers without bank accounts is the new Post Office Card Account, which would allow people to continue drawing their cash over the counter as normal.

But Steve says the government has done nothing to market the new card and customers are leaving in their droves because they don't know about it.

He added: "I've been told I'm not allowed to advise people to open the Post Office Card Account. Am I supposed to just sit here and watch my business go under?"