THE Post Office has unveiled a fleet of 40 new vehicles to serve 250 rural locations every week across the UK.

Kitted out to provide a walk-in post office on wheels, the vehicles are operated by subpostmasters who can bring all the services that their core branches provide to more isolated areas.

Services include postage of letters and parcels, personal banking such as cash withdrawals, and savings and insurance, providing facilities for thousands of people every week.

The vehicles are being deployed to rural areas in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and will cover half a million miles between them over the next 12 months.

They are replacing the current fleet of converted LDV vans, which have travelled around three million miles altogether over the past six years.

Post Office network director Kevin Gilliland said: "We are very pleased to see these 40 new mobile post offices take to the road to provide vital services for our customers.

"Post Office is modernising to meet customers' needs.

"We are investing in services across our network to make it easier for customers, whether that means they are served via one of our new vehicles in more isolated areas or at a modernised high street branch."

Stocksfield Post Office in Northumberland was the first mobile branch in the UK to put their new vehicle into gear.

Colin Lisgo, who runs the service, said: "It is a lifeline for people on Colin's route and he recognises the important role it plays in the lives of many of the customers he serves every week.

He said: "You have to ask how people in these remote communities would be able to pay their utility bills and access cash easily without us."

The Post Office, now independent of Royal Mail, is the largest retail network in the UK with over 11,500 branches.

Some 99.7% of people in the UK live within three miles of a Post Office service.