Seaton Hirst postmaster Paul Gill steps down after two decades

Paul Gill has looked after the post office at Seaton Hirst, Ashington, since he took over from his father, and says he has “absolutely loved” the role.

His parents Kelly and Susan bought the post office and newsagents at 103 Newbiggin Road in 1999, and Paul worked alongside them until he was ready to take over.

After just a few years, he and his wife Gopi doubled the size of their premises when they bought the flower shop next door, and added a convenience store.

The business is a focal point of the local community but after 20 years, Mr Gill will hand over control of the post office to Ramesh Kandasamy tomorrow (Friday).

He said: “We live 25 miles away near Newcastle, but Seaton Hirst feels like our home as people make us feel so welcome.

"This is an amazing community. We don’t see people as our customers, we see them as our friends. We know three generations of many families and people often pop in for chats.

“I don’t think about this as a business. First and foremost, it is about providing essential services to the community and profit comes second.

“During the pandemic we had to slightly reduce the opening hours, but we remained open throughout. It was very busy and the community really appreciated that we were open.

"After work we would do free deliveries of shopping for the vulnerable.”

Mr Gill also wanted to thank his hardworking staff, Alison Bruce and Lyn Curry, and admitted he decided to sell up after his children decided they wanted to pursue their own careers.

He added: “I would love to continue working in post pffices on an ad hoc, temporary basis.

"It is going to be hard leaving, but we will regularly pop back to Seaton Hirst.”

Post Office area manager Neil Barnard said: “Paul is such a lovely, warm-hearted postmaster, who really cares about his customers and he is very popular with the community.

"He has been a joy to work with as he is very positive. People can come in, in a bad mood, but Paul manages to turn then around, and they leave happier.

"Paul and Gopi will be sorely missed.”