Heard the one about the post office that ran out of money?

It may sound like a joke - but it was no laughing matter for pensioners and mums with young children who faced a long hike to get to the next nearest office.

The post office in Main Road, Hockley, was closed for two days up to midday yesterday after a delivery of cash from its head office failed to arrive.

Elderly people wanting to pick up their pensions and residents hoping to post letters were turned away two weeks ago as well - although it is not known if that was down to another failed delivery.

Post Office manager Kai Kumar declined to comment, but customers believe staff are having to deal with a sharp increase in the number of customers since the nearby Plumberow Avenue post office shut last year.

After a delivery finally turned up at 11am yesterday (Thursday) a spokesman for the Post Office said the problem was down to "operational difficulties".

He insisted that was the only reason but added that he had no information as to whether the office was having to deal with more customers since the closure of the Plumberow Avenue site.

The next nearest post office is about a mile away in Main Road, Hawkwell.

Madeline Radley, 46, who lives nearby in Bullwood Road, said she had visited the post office on a number of occasions this week trying to post a parcel.

She said: "Every time I've been in the past two days it's closed. I don't want to collect money, I just want to post a parcel, but I can't."

Anne Jones, 62, who lives in the same street, said: "I don't need to pick up a pension from there but my husband does.

"It must be terrible for pensioners who have to walk all the way up the hill just to find it closed when they get there."

A 74-year-old woman, who declined to be named, said: "It takes me about 20 minutes to walk up the hill and it's annoying that you have to get all the way there to find the blinds down and the shutters up.

"It would take even longer for me to go to Hawkwell.

"I can't keep doing that."

A Post Office spokesman said this week's closure was because one delivery of cash was late.

He said: "It is nothing to do with the closure of another post office. This is the first time it has happened and it was down to operational difficulties only.

"This was the only post office affected."

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