A village post office is back being run by the family who originally opened it.

Wethersfield Post Office and village shop in Silver Street was opened 50 years ago by Jack Tillbrook, also of Silver Street, but when he retired 19 years ago it was sold on.

Now, his daughter-in-law, Charlotte Tillbrook, has taken on the business after being advised to rethink her life following a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis at the age of just 30.

Mrs Tillbrook, now the office’s post mistress, said: “I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in 2010.

“It was quite sudden and got progressively worse until I was using a walking stick and taking time off work managing SureStart Children's Centres.

“It was a stressful position, I had 15 staff and was dealing with stressful situations and deadlines.

“I had to stop working and then my rheumatologist said there was some improvement and that it might be stress related and so advised me to rethink my life.

“I went into the shop one day and the owner said: “You don’t want to buy a shop do you?” and I thought: “I could do that”.

“So it’s come back into the family and now my arthritis is in remission.”