A STEADY stream of customers took time out from their shopping to wish Barry and Judy Dawson good luck on their retirement from East Bergholt post office.

A STEADY stream of customers took time out from their shopping to wish Barry and Judy Dawson good luck on their retirement FROM East Bergholt post office.

It was a measure of the affection of the whole community towards the couple who have run the post office and general store for more than 16 years.

Shop assistant Christine Hurry said: "I've been working here for 45 years and he's the best boss I've ever had."

Mr Dawson, 53, who has been in the retail trade for 35 years said when he and his wife first decided to move to Suffolk it had taken a year to find the right village shop.

He said: "This has always been a well-supported shop. There's no question of it closing."

While Mrs Dawson, 48, has run the post office, her husband has combined running the store with being a parish councillor, a governor at the local primary school for ten years, and a bell ringer in the famous bellcage next to St Mary's Church.

The couple have raised their four children in the village and three of them are now married and settled in East Bergholt, presenting their parents with five grandchildren between them.

Although they are eventually planning to move away from East Bergholt, they will be back frequently, said Mr Dawson, who intends to carry on as a bell ringer, although he has resigned from the parish council.

The new owners, Alec and Lyn Gardner, from Upminster, took over yesterday. .