Postmaster hailed 'community champ' over phone help

A sub-postmaster is being hailed a "community champion" for giving up his own time to help customers who struggle with using smartphones.

Sid Patel holds 30-minute advice sessions, once a week, after closing time at his post office in Sale, Trafford.

The 43-year-old decided to offer the support after seeing elderly residents feeling frustrated with their mobile phones.

"It's just a way of making them feel comfortable and confident. No-one is going to judge them, we're just here to help," he said.

"Some customers aren't used to smart devices", said Patel, who has been running the post office in Stanley Square, Sale since 2014.

"With technology, it can take time to understand and get a grasp on things."

He has been setting aside a few hours every Tuesday evening to answer questions, offer tips and advice and help people get the most out of their devices.

One of the customers who had been getting support, Rob Koch, 67, from Sale, said he had been struggling since he got his first smartphone about a month ago.

"I don't even know how to answer a call or open a text message. It's so frustrating," he said.

"I just want to learn the basics. This help has been great, time well spent."

Stephen McDermott and his wife Joan wanted help finding PDFs on their smartphones and printing them out.

Joan, 76, said smart devices could be a "nightmare" for her generation.

"We don't realise what you can get out of them. We need prompting quite a lot," she said.

"We're probably only using 10-20% of what the phone can do", added 78-year-old Stephen.

"I think what Sid is doing is brilliant.

"It's a fantastic idea and I think when more people know about it, he'll be inundated."

Sylvia Wright, 88, was also given help during the free sessions.

"We've scrapped a lot of apps that I would never have used," she said.

She described the postmaster as a "remarkable man" who was "watching out for the community."

"I think it's amazing. He's an example of what we can do in society."

Patel is running the advice sessions as a trial initially for four weeks.

After that, he said he would review whether there was enough demand to restart them.

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