A postmaster and the county council are both blaming each other for the continued closure of a local post office.

Rajendra Patel, who has run Regency News in Manor Road with his wife Nila since 1990, was forced to close his branch along with five others across the district in a nationwide cull two years ago.

The couple say that after the closure, the county council had been initially supportive in trying to help them re-open their counter but its attitude 'seemed to change overnight' and the council withdrew the funding.

Mr Patel said he still did not know why the offer had been withdrawn.

He said: "We had a lot of upset customers when we closed, we drew up a petition with 3,000 names on it and handed it into 10 Downing Street.

"They kept coming to us with projections on how profitable the counter would be and figures of how much they could give us, but then they just withdrew it, and they've never really said why.

"We said yes to the first figure, then they lowered it and we still said yes.

"I've kept the counter here, I've kept up with all the post office training, this counter had been here for the last 65 years and my customers are very disappointed."

But a spokesman for Essex County Council said Mr Patel had turned down its offer of help.

"We were in extended negotiations with this postmaster over the Christmas period. We are governed by a European Law called the “State Aid De Minimis” which means we are only legally allowed to offer €200,000 over three years.

"The postmaster felt he could not accept this offer so the money was redistributed amongst other sites and these new post offices have now opened."

Chigwell Village district councillor, John Knapman, put the blame firmly at the feet of the county council.

"I am trying to get a number of groups together to help with funding this. The county council has said that it can give a bit of funding to the scheme, if the parish and district councils will put some in too.

"We need to keep this open, it's right at the heart of this community."