Villagers celebrated the first anniversary of Isleham Post Office where arts, crafts and books have been added to the shopping mix.

The celebration took place at the branch at St Andrew’s Social Centre with free tea, coffee and cake for customers.

Postmaster Gary O’Connor opened the branch at Church Street a year ago as the previous postmaster was retiring and his premises were no longer going to be available.

Mr Connor, a local artist and writer, then developed his retail idea over the past year. Recent changes to the branch have involved adding more shelving to provide retail space to stock the work of talented local artists and authors.

Mr O’Connor, said: “I opened Isleham Post Office at the busiest time of the year, so I needed time to get proficient at providing the wide range of products and services that Isleham Post Office offers including car tax renewal and Euros on demand, before I developed the retail side of the business.

“I now stock hand-made cards, jewellery, gift ideas and books written by local authors. I wanted to organise a community day to reflect on the fact that a Post Office is at the heart of a community and now I can support the local community even further by stocking items produced locally.”