The Mayor of Sheringham has hit out at campaigners who, he says, are prepared to fight against a major supermarket but seem less inclined to work towards keeping both of the town's post offices open.

The Mayor of Sheringham has hit out at campaigners who, he says, are prepared to fight against a major supermarket but seem less inclined to work towards keeping both of the town's post offices open.

At a meeting last week the town council pledged to fight to keep the town's Cromer Road Post Office open.

The service, run by sub-postmaster Andrew Worsdale, is one of the 69 on the proposed closure list but many in the town feel it is in a more suitable location than the other office on High Street, which will be spared.

More than 30 people attended the meeting but Noel Gant said he was “disappointed that more people think they can save Sheringham by going to Downing Street than by coming to the community centre.

“I am all for people expressing their opinion but they should be supporting their town and council at the same time,” he said.

“If they are so keen on stopping a supermarket from opening where is their enthusiasm for stopping a shop from being closed.”

Mr Gant pointed out that more people lived in the area of the Cromer Road Post Office and relied on its services than the office in the town centre.

He said: “We are wholeheartedly behind keeping it open and we would rather keep both open.”

But Janet Farrow, from Sheringham Chamber of Trade, who has campaigned vociferously against Tesco, said she had attended the annual town meeting and had she known about the post office meeting she would have stayed for it.

She said: “This is a case of miscommunication.

“If we had known about it then we would have had someone there.

“We are fully behind the move to keep the Cromer Road post office open as closing it is another nail in the coffin.”

In November last year North Norfolk District Council's planning committee voted unanimously to reject the latest application by Tesco, which has been trying to build a store in the town for more than a decade.

An appeal hearing into an earlier application is set to begin in July and is scheduled to last three weeks.

Mr Worsdale said the supermarket campaign was a different issue to post office closures.

He said: “Personally I think Tesco would be a catastrophe for Sheringham.

“The inspiration I draw from that issue it is that is shows the ability of the town to fight and campaign.”