WE were very pleased to read (LET, September 16) that Nigel Evans MP wants more support for village sub-post offices, but would like to take issue with him over the amount he thinks we get paid.

Many small sub-post offices would be delighted to receive as much as £10,000 a year; part-time community offices may only get a couple of thousand.

We are paid according to the amount of transactions we deal with. More business would be most welcome, but we cannot see how giving up valuable shelf space currently used for groceries, magazines, etc. to house library books would double our income.

I wonder if Mr Evans buys his TV Licence at the post office while he is paying his gas, water and phone bills and ordering his foreign currency for his next holiday.

BEN AND LYNNE HAYWARD, Belthorn Post Office, Belthorn, Blackburn.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.