A mobile post office service has been launched in rural Aberdeenshire to cover communities hit by a spate of counter closures.
Mail bosses have unveiled a new approach to reaching customers at Cuminestown, Rothienorman and Udny Station.
The van service will operate out of Turriff post office and will be driven by former sub-postmistress Moira Raeburn.
She said she was looking forward to providing a service again.
“I worked at the Cuminestown office until it closed down a few years ago and I was made redundant,” she explained.
“The Rothienorman service was also closed and Udny Station has been without a post office for more than a year.
“They did look at ways of moving the service into village shops, but that wasn’t possible.
“I think having the mobile office is a great way of reaching people in these areas.”
The new mobile unit, a Mercedes Sprinter van, has been kitted out with a walk-in post office offering a range of services from postage to personal banking and cash withdrawals.
It will visit Cuminestown and Rothienorman each weekday and Udny Station on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
It is the only service of its kind in the north-east, although the Post Office has unveiled a fleet of about 40 vans at locations around the UK.
Post Office network director Kevin Gilliland said last night: “Post Office is modernising to meet customers’ needs.
“We are investing in services across our network to make it easier for customers, whether that means they are served via one of our new vehicles in more isolated areas or at modernised high street branches.”
The decision to close down the post offices at Cuminestown and Rothienorman was announced in January 2009.
They were replaced with a limited mobile service.
The move was condemned by First Minister Alex Salmond, who said at the time: “”Post offices provide a lifeline local service and these closures and service reductions undermine both the economic and, in many areas, the social heart of communities.”