THE villagers of Bourton said a fond farewell to their postmaster this week, as he gets ready to venture off to Weston-super-mare to begin a new challenge.

Gary Kirkman, 50, has been postmaster in Bourton-on-the-Water post office for nearly eight years. This June he will be moving with his family to the seaside town of Weston to begin a new chapter of his life. He admitted he was surprised to hear that villagers were truly going to miss him.

"I'm absolutely overwhelmed," he said. "When I realised I was going to go I thought I was just going to be like another shop keeper leaving but everyone has said they're going to miss me - it's been a bit emotional."

Mr Kirkman worked his last day at the post office on Monday but will not be moving properly until June, as his three sons are all sitting exams at the Cotswold School. He will be starting work at the new Weston post office at the end of May.

"The Weston-super-mare post office has been struggling a while now," he added. "It went bust five years ago. It's a brand new challenge. Weston is a place which deserves a good post office. It's been a problem child for many years but I'm looking forward to making it a success."

The father-of-three, who used to work at the Royal Bank of Scotland, said he will miss the people of Bourton most when he leaves.

"I'll miss my staff too. I'm good at talking to people but I'm useless at admin. My staff have spend the last seven years clearing up the mess around me! They have been so patient. I will miss the customers too.

"I go to Tesco and get stopped in the car park by people saying they will miss me. It's so unexpected."

The postmaster said he has a "very loud mouth" and jumped at the chance to make Bourton post office the first office to undergo network transformation - a government scheme making post offices more modern.

His determination meant the village post office was the first in the country to open from 7am-7pm.

Mr Kirkman's colleagues at the post office treated him to presents and cards on his last day. They all toasted the beginning of his new journey with champagne.

He will be moving in June with his wife of 25 years Helen and his three sons, Tom, 18, and twins Joe and Ben, both 15.