VILLAGERS who refused to give up the fight when their village shop and post office closed last year will celebrate the opening of replacement facilities on Friday.

A new post office and shop has been set up at the Memorial Hall, in Middleton Tyas, near Richmond.

Residents established an action group when the original facilities closed in March last year.

Since then, villagers have been travelling three miles to the nearest shop and eight miles to the nearest supermarket.

The shop, which is a Community Co-operative, has been registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act and is owned and operated by the residents.

The Co-operative Action loan fund has given the project a £43,000 short-term loan pending the release of a Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs grant towards the £72,000 set-up costs.

The trustees of the Memorial Hall offered a ten-year lease to run the general store, newsagent and off-licence from the premises and a small building next door is the new post office.

Three part-time paid managers and a team of volunteers have been recruited to staff the store which will be open from 8am to 6pm on weekdays.

Alan Siddall, shop director and treasurer said: "Our long-term objective is to build a stable, self-supporting business for the long-term benefit of the community and, at the same time, offer financial support to the running of the Memorial Hall.

"The business will be accessible to all villagers and offer a good range of locally produced foods with high personal service at competitive rates.

"There has been quite a lot of support within the village both financially and in terms of effort.

"The co-operative structure was felt to be most suitable for a social enterprise, which is owned and controlled by the local community and which exists to benefit that community."

Mr Siddall said there were many retired and elderly people living in the village and the store would prove especially useful for them.

The business will also cater for 120 pupils at the new village school, which is 500 yards away and a caravan site a mile away.