A NEW community shop and post office has quite literally descended on a Herefordshire village.

Residents in Burley Gate, in between Hereford and Bromyard, gathered in the village hall car park to see the 40-foot long shop arrive on the back of a lorry before being lowered into place with the help of a large crane.

The arrival of the portable building signals the end of an 18-month fundraising project by villagers which has seen 130 people purchase shares, while many others have handed over loans to help beat their initial target of £48,000.

The plan has been led by the Burley Gate Community Shop Ltd group which was set-up in October 2013 when villagers were told of plans to close the village's existing shop.

Susan Carss has been appointed as the shop and post office manager and she will oversee a team of volunteers to run the venture.

It is hoped the outlet will prove popular with those in the village as well as passing trade, being just off the A465.

It will primarily serve the community stretching from Preston Wynne in the west to Stoke Lacy in the east.

The present Burley Gate Shop and Post Office, which first opened in the 1880s, will be closing at the end of August, by which time the new building should be ready to serve its first customers.

The new shop will boast more space than the existing one and will include food and drink from county producers.

The long-term aim is to establish the shop in permanent premises.

Burley Gate Community Shop Ltd features a management committee made up of nine residents who have experience in areas including business start-up, food and drink marketing and rural businesses.

Any profits from the shop will be put back into the business or go towards other amenities in the area.

The new shop will open from 8am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday, 8am - 12.30pm on Saturday and 8am - 12pm on Sunday.

The post office will open at 9am and be closed on a Sunday.