A post office and shop in a rural village in North Yorkshire has officially opened after residents rallied to raise £57,000 to pay for a new building.
The facility in Appleton Wiske, near Northallerton, had previously been based in part of a residential property.
Keen to find a permanent location, volunteers spent four years putting on fundraising events to pay for a prefabricated site within the grounds of the village hall.
On 31 October, more than 60 villagers teamed up to move everything from the old location to the new building – a feat they managed in under two hours.
Postmistress Jackie McReddie described it as a “really proud day” for the village.
“We were already a close-knit community, but it brought people from Appleton Wiske and surrounding areas even closer together,” she said.
“We had a common goal as we all wanted to keep a post office and village shop.
“We had lots of fundraising events which helped us to reach our target and we had fun on the way.”
