WITH the campaign to save their post office, Stillington residents are delivering a message of hope to every other community in a similar position.

Their rescue package shows that it is possible to stop the systematic asset-stripping of our villages. It takes time, determination and teamwork, but it can be done.

Stillington's self-help crusade to run the post office as a co-operative is heartening on so many levels. It is a contemporary example of that peculiarly English trait, where a group of equable folk unite to defy the odds. There is a Passport To Pimlico quality about what they are doing.

Yet this is no dotty escapade. It is a serious attempt to tackle a real problem. The way the Stillington Community Association has gone about its mission, consulting the villagers, issuing shares, drawing up a business plan which has found favour at the bank, is nothing less than professional.

Most of all, though, we are impressed by the community spirit in Stillington. So often we are told that neighbourliness is dying out, that the countryside is being taken over by those seeking a weekend cottage retreat and no desire to take part in village life.

Stillington gives the lie to that clich. Politicians like to tell us we should become a "stakeholder society": here, that meaningless soundbite has been turned into practical reality.

The Post Office's rapid retreat from hundreds of local communities has been one of the most depressing spectacles of recent years. Financial problems have led an organisation once proud of its community role to harden its attitude towards grassroots service. Nevertheless, we hope that Post Office managers will do all they can to support a truly pioneering venture.

There is more work to be done in Stillington. The association needs to raise £135,000 by the end of June to succeed. We wish them well - as will many other communities who might hope to follow Stillington's pioneering footsteps.

Updated: 10:32 Thursday, May 29, 2003