Villages near Haverhill, including Kedington and Thurlow, among the first to be served by electric mobile post office

England’s first ever full-electric mobile post office is now serving numerous villages in the Haverhill area.

The mobile service serves 17 rural communities in Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire and is run by Alex Robinson and Jane Welsh, who also manage the post office in Finchingfield.

Among the villages it visits are Kedington, Great Thurlow, Helions Bumpstead, Castle Camps, Ashdon, Weston Colville, Cornish Hall End and Cavendish.

The diesel mobile post office formerly used by Alex and Jane has been replaced by the electric van which is much better for the environment and cheaper to operate.

Where the vehicle is parked up overnight for charging there are solar panels, reducing the electricity cost of fuelling the vehicle.

Solar panels on the roof of the vehicle recharge the auxiliary battery en-route for power for the computer system, interior lighting and for heating or air conditioning.

The first electric mobile post office was introduced in rural Pembrokeshire in Wales, this summer.

The Finchingfield Mobile Post Office covers longer distances of over 60 miles.

It can comfortably do more than 100 miles under normal circumstances. Even if there is road congestion in this very rural part of East Anglia, which is more densely populated than Pembrokeshire, or on very cold days affecting the battery, there is still plenty of leeway, before it needs recharging.

Alex said: “Now we have tested the vehicle our initial range anxiety has subsided, and our confidence grown. We have plenty of range for all the places we visit, even in the middle of winter or if there is unexpected traffic.”

“Our anxiety comes not from the range of the vehicle, but from our desire to keep it looking smart. Customers are impressed that it is an all-electric vehicle and that it is a brand-new vehicle that looks really good.

“They like the eco credentials that it is better for the environment and cheaper to run. “It looks very posh and smells new too.

“This electric vehicle shows that the Post Office is serious about serving rural communities and a mobile post office is a practical way to reach smaller outlying villages.”

Cllr Neil Reeve, portfolio holder for environment and climate change at Uttlesford District Council welcomed the new arrival, saying: “Our corporate plan aims to encourage the use of electric vehicles wherever possible and we very much welcome the introduction of an electric mobile post office which serves eight of our rural communities, including residents living at the military base at Carver Barracks.

“To be the first area in England to be served in this way is very pleasing and will I hope serve as visible encouragement for the use of electrically powered vehicles by trades and other service providers.”

Cllr John Evans, portfolio holder for planning and Infrastructure at Uttlesford and member for the Parish of Stebbing, was instrumental in inviting this mobile post office to serve the district’s communities.

He said: “Public transport links from our smaller villages to the nearest Post Office are very limited so the service provided by the Finchingfield mobile post office which comes into our rural community on a regular basis is invaluable.

“Many residents across all age groups in my village use its facilities, including young mums - with their children and dogs – as they pass the van while parked near the school. I would like to thank Alex and Jane and their team for their exemplary and friendly support.”

The new vehicle has an extendable pin-pad, allowing customers to be served at ground level or inside.

The vehicle also has a better layout, providing more storage space, which is very important with the ever-increasing home shopping market and people selling goods online.

As well as Jane and Alex’s regular visits to the 17 villages, they also volunteer to help at ad-hoc events like village fetes as their presence with the mobile post office allows people to conveniently withdraw money to spend and for fundraisers and stall holders to pay takings into their accounts.

There are 65 diesel and two electric mobile post offices used across the UK.