THE?LOSS of Buriton’s mobile library is another nail in the coffin of community life.

So says the Rev Philip Mason who was a regular user of the service which was cut down from once a fortnight to once a month, and has now been axed altogether.

“What we are losing here is not just the facility to withdraw library books, but a sense of community,” he said.

“What we are being offered instead is books that can be delivered to your home by a home library service volunteer. We are losing our opportunity to select from a wide range of books which are available.

“We have lost the opportunity to say to neighbours ‘this was a good read, I think you might like it’.”

The loss of the service run by Hampshire Libraries was another threat to a community way of life in rural villages.

Residents who objected to the move were told by Hampshire County Council it was too expensive to run.

“We are pushed further and further into isolation with groceries and prescriptions being delivered to our door, putting us in the situation where there is no need for us to go out and mix in the community,” he added.

The service served the residents of Buriton parish including those in Ditcham Park, North Lodge, Coulters Dene, Sunwood Farm, Miscombe Cottages. At one point it was a library for the pupils at Ditcham Park School.

“It was a meeting point for the locals to exchange gossip and bring ourselves up to date with local news,” said Mr Mason, who lives at North Lodge, Ditcham Park.

“In fact, all the mobile librarians considered the Sunwood Stop to be one of the liveliest on their round.

“What we are losing here is not just the facility to withdraw library books but a sense of community.”

Wendy Wolfe, of Sunwood Farm, was such a library regular she used to let it park on her driveway. “We get nothing for our council tax now apart from having our bins emptied,” she said.

A spokesman for Hampshire County Council confirmed the service had been cut as it was under-used and expensive to run.

In a consultation, two-thirds of residents had supported the move. There were other options in place such as the home delivery service for books.