Rural postmen could sell stamps and collect mail door-to-door under plans being considered by the trade and industry secretary.

Writing in the Express today, Patricia Hewitt says she wants to offer extra services in remote areas to boost ailing Post Offices and revive declining communities.

A revamped service will cost the consumer more, warns the cabinet minister, but assures the newspaper's readers that it is worth it to support "one of the strands which helps bind our country together".