The Post Office has apologised for inconvenience caused by refurbishment of its service at Westbury Co-op coinciding with closures of branches at The Ham and Dilton Marsh.

The town’s main Post Office branch, at the Co-op store in Kingfisher Drive, closes today for work expected to last until next Friday, November 1.

News of the closure came a week after the revelation that Dilton Marsh Stores, which has a Post Office counter, was shutting. The Ham Post Office has been closed for several months.

Plans for the refurbishment and information about the closures were presented to Westbury Area Board last Thursday.

Laura Tarling, Post Office senior stakeholder manager, confirmed that a temporary bus service would run hourly from the Co-op to the Post Office in College Road, Trowbridge, to help customers.

She said: “I appreciate that there are issues for those who live in Dilton Marsh and The Ham and it is an extra journey for them to make, but unfortunately we can’t please everyone.

“There are different types of Post Office and we do use temporary ones, but for a refurbishment under two weeks the bus service is something we would normally go for.

“I do apologise for the inconvenience, but ultimately, the end result will be a Post Office more accessible for everyone.”

Ms Tarling said it was unfortunate both Dilton Marsh and The Ham had closed at short notice, due to the premises becoming unavailable, but that interest had been shown in both.

She added: “We do have a couple of interested parties, with The Ham one quite far along in the process and Dilton Marsh only in the early stages.”