It was announced last week that Sands would take over the service for a 12-month trial period, following the closure of the old post office in February.

But locals say the Sands store is unsuitable, amid concerns that the Post Office may not have given full consideration to Strath Garage, which also expressed an interest.

One of the garage's supporters, Maureen Boyle, told the Fife Herald she had been visiting homes in Strathmiglo to canvass local opinion.

She said that of the 44 householders she had questioned so far, 35 had signed letters expressing concern about the new location.

Mrs Boyle, a pensioner, said: "The village is in uproar about this.

"We believe the David Sands shop is too small to have a post office, and we also worry about privacy — who wants to be paying bills or collecting their pension while people are doing their groceries right beside them?

"Strath Garage would have had more space and better access for disabled people and mums with pushchairs, and unlike Sands would have provided all the services we had in the old post office.

A spokesperson for the Post Office defended the range of "key products and services" that will be on offer in the David Sands store, adding that similar trials throughout the UK had received positive feedback.

On the subject of considering other options, the spokesperson said: "There has not been an application from Strath Garage.

"The owner of Strath Garage expressed an interest with Post Office Ltd towards the end of January.

"However, we were already at an advanced stage with an interested party and he was advised that if this did not come to fruition, he would be contacted."

Strath Garage owner Iain Clark confirmed he had expressed an interest in taking over the service, but said he was told no opportunity would be available until a public consultation had taken place.

According to Mr Clark, the next information he received from the Post Office was the news he had missed the deadline for applications.

He told the Fife Herald: "It's encouraging that people in the village feel so strongly about this.

Read more in this week's Fife Herald.