Plight of the blind who need their post office

Sitting in an M25 Motorway traffic jam counting cones is how I ground through the morning on the latest post office travels.

Jane, my robotic map-reading companion, had not possessed the Sat-Nav foresight to avoid Enfield at all costs.

But eventually we reach our destination - the rural Buckinghamshire village of Wingrave, at the kind invitation of retired subpostmistress Pat Malin, 81, and husband Len, 80.

It is the usual story, although with over 21 years of post office service under her belt, Pat knows more than most about the threat of closure and what a branch means to the community. She is particularly troubled about people such as disabled husband Len, who through no fault of their own cannot manage without help.

Len is hiding in his beloved garden shed but we soon track him down. He recounts adventures during the war as a young army plane spotter racing back on his bicycle to report sightings of the enemy. A time when people really would have had something worth saying on a mobile phone. Unfortunately, during a training exercise Len lost an eye when a gun misfired, so he never saw active service. He contracted Macular Degeneration a couple of decades ago which now leaves him almost totally blind.

But Len does not ask for sympathy - just understanding. Down at the local post office they key in his Post Office card number and handle his finances making sure he is well cared for. Take away the branch and a lifeline goes too. Len speaks for hundreds of thousands of other people across the country. Len does not drive and cannot cope with the bus let alone bustling queues and strangers who cannot help.

Back in London there is a march going on as protestors from a wide range of action groups - including the Royal National Institute of the Blind - show their anger at plans to axe 2,500 branches this year.

I seize the opportunity to speak to former MP and Postmaster General Tony Benn. Some of his ideas may be inpractical but the man is a great orator with integrity - how often can you say that of a politician? He recounts how one of his elderly constituents now must take a bus ride every time she wants to post a letter because the local branch has closed down. Allowing closures isn't just 'ridiculous', but 'dangerous' behaviour by the Government, believes Benn.

It may sound alarmist but if this latest wave of closures just herald further closures, the rhetoric will certainly ring true to the most vulnerable, such as Len. If your branch needs support or you have a view on closures, please send us a blog comment or letter to help us keep the post office fight alive.

- Toby Walne, Travels With Toby, Financial Mail on Sunday

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