A POST office in Popley will open for an extra 33 hours a week following a refurbishment.

Abbey Road Post Office will close on July 21 at 5.30pm for the revamp, and will reopen on July 25 at 1pm with a new open-plan combination counter, where the post office terminal will sit alongside the retail till.

The new post office will open seven days a week offering bill payment, banking, benefits and travel money, as well as postage and home shopping returns.

It will open from 6am to 6pm Monday and Thursday, 6am to 7.30pm Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 7am to 7.30pm on Saturday and 7am to 2pm on Sundays.

Mark Jacobs, area manager, said: “We know how important post office services are to residents in Basingstoke and we are confident that this vibrant new-style post office at the heart of the community will be popular.

"The modernisation is part of a major Government investment programme that is enabling us to continue investing in post office network and to map out a bold growth strategy through to the end of the decade.”

The McColls retail store will remain open during the refurbishment.

Alternative post office branches during the closure are the post office in London Street, at the Top of The Town, or Shakespeare Road, Popley.