DISGRUNTLED customers of a recently refurbished post office are being asked by staff not to let their anger boil over – after receiving several racist and threatening letters.

Workers at WGC post office, which was last year converted into a Costcutter, say they have been inundated with furious letters and nasty complaints – some even racist and threatening.

Now, manager Michelle Ward, who has worked at the Howardsgate post office for 18 years, has called for an end to the “damn right nastiness”, and asked customers for some perspective.

She said: “Since our refurbishment we have had no cut in staff whatsoever, we still have the same number of staff working on the counter as before.

“We have five fully operational counter positions, three are on the open plan part of the counter and two on the enclosed secure counter.”

Miss Ward said the three open plan desks could handle transactions up to and including �600.

The other two, glass-fronted, desks deal with higher value transactions – in accordance with normal security procedure.

Miss Ward added: “As has always been the case, we have one position where priority is given to our bureau de change customers.

“This position is manned by clerks who are specially trained in these transactions.

“The Costcutter shop purely utilises the wasted shop floor space – there is still a great deal of space available for Post Office customers and the level of service provided to customers has not been affected in any way since our refurbishment.

“Hopefully some positive comments from the Welwyn Hatfield Times instead of all the negative and untrue reports which have been published in your paper recently will help alleviate some of the hostility and damn right nastiness which we have had to endure from the public since our refurbishment.”

Their campaign is being backed by Welwyn Hatfield MP Grant Shapps, who said: “There’s no excuse for some of the extreme mail that has been received. Hopefully, that will be the end of it.

“In reality, the shop is bright, clean and tidy, and all of the post office services continue as before.”