WALLYFORD’s postmaster of 30 years is set to pursue a new venture in the village.

Pardeep Moudgil, 60, will retire from his job at Wallyford Post Office in the next two months.

But the popular postmaster has no intention of saying farewell to the village which has taken him to its heart and is planning to transform the Post Office building, which he owns, into an Indian takeaway.

Post Office services will be transferred to the Day-Today store when the Post Office closes in August.

Mr Moudgil, who crowned Wallyford’s Gala Queen Millie Kelly and King Leon Renton earlier this month, was keen to ensure he didn’t open a business which would compete with others in the village.

He surveyed customers about what they would like to see provided and 90 per cent felt an Indian takeaway would be a good addition to local facilities, which include two Chinese takeaways.

Mr Moudgil told the Courier: “I wanted to stay in Wallyford as my heart is here.

“Every child as young as two can pronounce my name. I know families of three generations. The whole community has made me one of them.”

He said retiring from the Post Office would make him “sad for a few days”.

Looking ahead to his Indian takeaway, he said he would create a kitchen in the Post Office premises and was looking for “the best chef”. His new enterprise, which he hopes will be open for business by November, will create five new jobs and cost between £30,000 and £40,000.

Since arriving as postmaster, Mr Moudgil has clocked up about 300,000 miles travelling to Wallyford from his home in Fairmilehead, Edinburgh.

He said: “I was so chuffed to be asked to crown the Gala Queen and King. It was a real honour and I would like to thank the people of Wallyford from the bottom of my heart.”

He is now planning to ask local people what they think his Indian takeaway should be called.

The Courier previously reported that the proposed Post Office move was part of a major modernisation programme across the network designed to make it easier for customers to do business, through longer opening hours and open-plan environments. Post Office Local is a new concept for delivering Post Office services.

The new Wallyford branch will offer Post Office products and services from an open-plan service point integrated into the retail counter, instead of from a screened counter.