Post Office services have returned to Llandinam, two years on from the closure of the village’s branch.

The new Mobile Outreach Service has opened its doors at the village hall and will now be open every Tuesday between 9am and 11am.

Talks to bring an outreach service to Llandinam began last year, and its opening has been welcomed as “great news” for the community.

AM Russell George and Llandinam County Councillor Karl Lewis paid a visit to the village hall on the opening day.

Mr George said: “I’m delighted that the Post Office has opened the new mobile service in Llandinam.

“Until its closure, the village had previously enjoyed the benefits of a Post office for many years and since the closure, residents have been concerned about the lack of postal services within the village.

“I have previously been in discussions with communities and the Post Office regarding the provision of post office services in Llanbrynmair, Castle Caereinion and Sarn so knew that it would be possible for a mobile service to be considered for Llandinam.

“I am therefore delighted that after discussions with Llandinam Community Council almost a year ago, the Post Office has agreed to the new service and so all of our efforts have come to fruition.”

Cllr Lewis added: “Residents had contacted me and Llandinam Community Council to say that it was causing inconvenience and difficulties for them to access the nearest postal service located a few miles away so I’m delighted that this new mobile Post Office has opened to serve the residents of Llandinam.

“The new service will be especially beneficial to the elderly residents in the village, who have found accessing postal services located away from the village very difficult, with some suffering mobility problems and reliant on very limited bus services.

“It is great news for this rural community who have a proven track record of fighting hard to keep their village services open.”

The service is operated by Mary Davies, who had run Llangurig Post Office with her husband, Colin, for 20 years.

She said: “We know how valuable post office services are to rural communities especially with banks closing in some of our towns and while not a full replacement for permanent Post Office services, the mobile service seems to be providing an alternative which can support a number of needs for local people.”