Rose Doncaster, 73, who lives on the Dovecot Estate, is a familiar sight in the village, zipping round on her mobility trike.

She led last week's protest march from Rippingale to Morton.

"But I couldn't do that trip by myself, if our post office closed," she said.

Rose visits the post office two or three times a week to pick up her pension, pay all her bills and paid her television licence there until the facility was taken away.

She said: "I don't know where I would go or what I would do if they closed the post office. The bus is no good to me and it only runs once a week anyway. I have no other transport to call on."

Glen Cooper, 40, and Kate Parker, 37, of Main Road, run a secondhand car parts business. They use the village post office every day, sending out 40 to 50 parcels per week. They use a courier service daily for heavier items.

Glen said: "Secondhand cars mean the customer is working to a budget.

If I had to courier everything it would probably put a couple more pounds on a £10 bill and they would go elsewhere – I'd go out of business."

Paul Boyall, 37, and Lisa Kell, 36, of Middle Street, have three children aged two to 17 and are expecting their fourth child soon.

They have one car but Paul has to use that to get to work, leaving Lisa and her youngest child isolated. She goes to a supermarket at the weekend but uses the village store and post office during the week.

She said: "If the post office closed and that meant the store closing, I don't know what I'd do. Attempting to shop by bus into Bourne once a week with a two-year-old doesn't bear thinking about, but with the new baby as well I'll be stuck."

Stef Clarke, 33, and wife Michelle, 27, of Middle Street, have three children aged three to eight. They have no car and rely on public transport to get out of the village – a once a week bus service to Bourne or to Grantham.

Stef said: "We use the post office in Rippingale almost every day to withdraw money, pick up child benefits, pay all our bills, and while we're there we use the shop.

"What we would do if they close I just don't know. If we had to walk to Morton or Pointon, it would have to be with the kids. There are no pavements and they are dangerous roads."

* Rippingale has thrown down a challenge to a top Post Office official to address a public meeting on November 6. Villagers want Mark Partington, the Post Office network development manager who signed the East Midlands area closure plan, to face them.

Phil Rippingale, of the Friends of Rippingale Post Office, said the Post Office officials should meet members of the public and justify their decision.