I READ your article, “Four-hour trip to collect her pension”

(Echo, April 7), another woeful tale of hardship due to a post office closure, with a mixture of sadness and crossness.

Would this space have been better utilised in informing Janet Hogarth, of Rookhope, County Durham, whose nearest post office is now six miles away, of the advisability, for safety and simplicity, of having her pension paid into a bank account?

Cash can be obtained in smaller amounts from any shop, while shopping with Cash Point or cash-back facilities. A simple debit card is much safer to carry around than a week’s pension in your purse.

In today’s world, when most of us “vulnerable over-70s” are becoming computer-literate, I feel it is no more difficult to master the financial aspects of life than to use modern TVs, washing machines and music equipment.

There would be no shortage of people to help (Age Concern or friends) to assist anyone afraid of taking this step.

I have all my bills on standing orders, and always shop with my direct debit card. Monthly bank statements are easy to follow. If the weather is atrocious I do not have to leave the house, let alone waste time on an unnecessary four-hour trek.

Joyce Ophield, West Cornforth, Co Durham