Last updated 08:58, Saturday, 15 November 2008

The announcement that the Post Office Card Account (Poca) will continue to be administered by post offices is a welcome relief at a time when few are escaping worries about job losses and businesses going under.

Post offices provide a vital service, not just for pensioners and those with Poca accounts, but also for the community as a whole.

They can be the focal point for a community and are a cherished national institution.

Too many Cumbrian communities have already experienced the damaging impact of the closure of their local post office and further closures would have been crippling.

This lifeline comes at a time of financial turmoil, with people worried about money and jobs – and for post office employees this news will be a huge relief as redundancies would have been on the cards if the contract had not been renewed.

City MP Eric Martlew should be applauded for his role in helping to preserve the service and making the Government see sense at last.

The threat to remaining post offices has been hanging over us for some time.

Now and at last the post offices and those that use them and are employed by them can be safe in the knowledge that this vital service is secure, until 2015 at least.