Villagers in St Keverne have launched a campaign to save their post office, which could be forced to close in early March amid a dispute over opening hours.

Subpostmaster Dorinda Lambert has been given until March 4 to either agree to working longer hours, which would mean her losing her lunchbreak, or giving up the business altogether.

Mrs Lambert, who has been trying to negotiate a compromise with the Post Office for some time, said this week she was so fed up with their "bullying" she was planning to sell the business.

"After the way they have treated me I just don't want to carry on," she said. "The whole thing is so pointless. People here are happy with the opening hours, and it won't generate that much more business if it's open a bit longer.

"This post office provides a vital service to the community, but they have no idea what the village needs. They probably don't even know where St Keverne is. All they are considering is some bureaucratic rule which says I have to work certain hours. They are not thinking about the people here at all."

Mrs Lambert, who has been subpostmaster for 18 months, has put the post office on the market, but said the threat of closure hangingover the business and the March 4 deadline made a sale highly unlikely.

"With the best will in the world I'm not going to get a buyer before March 4. I am prepared to carry on until I find someone, but I don't think the Post Office will give me more time. I could sell it as a property, but I want to sell it as a business or the village will lose out."

Local residents are furious at the prospect of losing their post office, which offers a full range of services including vehicle licensing and pensions.

Villager Bryan Benjamin, who has already enlisted the help of local MP Andrew George, said being without a post office would be a major blow to the community.

"There are a lot of elderly and disabled people here who rely on it," he said. "Buses are few and far between and I don't know how they would cope. It really is very sad because I can't see anyone taking it over. The Post Office seems intent on destroying rural life. The net effect of all these closures is devastating."

Parish councillors in St Keverne have written to Post Office Counters to express their dismay at the situation.

Council clerk Brenda Marsh said members were "extremely concerned" at the possibility of losing their post office, which provided a vital community service.

Contacted by the Packet this week, a spokesman for Post Office Ltd insisted the ultimatum over opening hours at St Keverne was all about improving the service to local people.

"Post offices are not getting the business that they used to and a lot of that has to do with the fact that some of them are behind the times," he said. "Anything we can do to make them more accessible and encourage people to use them more we have to do. We don't want to remove post office provision from St Keverne but we do need these extra hours to be done."

The spokesman added that Mrs Lambert had known when she took over the business that longer opening hours were to be implemented.