Addingham: Yorkshire Dales village to lose post office after subpostmaster whose family have been shopkeepers for four generations resigns

Mr Preston has run the shop on Main Street since 2009, but its last trading day will be February 7.

The Post Office is attempting to keep a branch in the village open by advertising the postmaster vacancy and has said it wishes to retain the service, which could be transferred to other premises in Addingham.

Representatives have said that the closure is temporary and that a new postmaster is actively being recruited. The nearest branches are in Ilkley and Bolton Abbey.

Mr Preston last summer had to alter his opening hours and close completely at weekends because he had to undertake newspaper delivery rounds himself due to a shortage of staff.

The businessman and his father Bill re-opened the newsagents in 2009, after the shop had been empty for three years following an arson attack. Bill ran the business for 15 years in the 1980s and 90s.

His grandparents had come to Addingham in the 1800s and opened a general store in the current butchers’ premises, meaning Mark was the fourth generation of his family to run a shop in the community.