Couple who saved Shrewsbury post office honoured
A dedicated couple who rescued a village post office from closure by opening a shop in the building are celebrating after they were recognised for the quality of their local produce in a national competition.
Sarah and Duncan Ellson scooped first place in the Heart of England Fine Foods contest, just a month after opening their shop.
The husband and wife team were recognised for selling food unique to the county after they launched their online business Shropshire's Own two years ago.
They even saved the post-office from closure after setting up shop in Longden, near Shrewsbury, earlier this year.
Duncan said: "We were so surprised, we can't quite believe it.
"We were sat there at this awards ceremony in Birmingham and we didn't think for one minute that we would win.
"When they called our names out my wife and I just looked at each other."
The couple's two children also help out in the business, and they have been embraced by the community after taking on the post office as well.
Sarah and Duncan, both 39, stepped in to save the post office when sub-postmaster Mervyn Brown retired, reinventing it as a farm shop
Duncan said: "The chap who used to run the post office in the village, and had done since 2000, decided he didn't want to do it anymore and was retiring. But he was desperate that the village kept some sort of facility and came to see us to see if we would like to take it on.
"We went through the whole process with the post office and we're renting the building from Mervyn.
"But we've gutted the shop, put in new shelving, a new layout a brand new look - and managed to keep the post office in the village."
