A roll of honour commemorating Royal Mail and Post Office personnel who gave their lives during the two world wars has been moved to their Bradford sorting office.

The memorial had been on public display at Shipley delivery office, which closed in March and has since been pulled down.

The site is now being cleared to make way for a car park for the neighbouring Drive In Service Centre on Otley Road.

Garage owner Dave Demot put a tender in for the building, which other bidders had wanted to convert to apartments, and the sale was completed in April.

Mr Demot said a non-disclosure agreement meant he could not reveal how much he paid for the site, which is between 10,000 and 11,000 square feet.

He hopes to eventually expand the 30-year-old business and add to the 12-strong workforce.

“I’ve looked at that ugly building for 28 years. I knew I had to buy it – my business has suffered because of it. No-one could see my business because of it and customers struggled to park,” he said.

“It will make a lot of difference to business because people will now see us and you can’t beat the fact that people can see you and know what you’re doing. Otley Road is a busy road.

“The main thing is that we’re securing the business for the future.”

Royal Mail closed the delivery office earlier this year, and its services moved to the Bradford North Delivery Office near Forster Square Retail Park.

Shipley MP Philip Davies was concerned that its closure would cause problems for customers who would have to travel an extra three miles to collect undelivered mail.

He wrote to Royal Mail asking if an alternative pick-up point could be set-up in Shipley and has repeated his request since its closure, having being contacted by frustrated constituents.

But the Tory MP welcomed the new use of the site, which neighbours his office. “It’s sad that the delivery office has closed down, but given that’s the case, I’m all for wanting local small businesses to expand and flourish and if this gives them that opportunity, then that’s great,” he said.

Barbara Roulston, spokesman for Royal Mail said: “ I can confirm that the War Memorial from Shipley Delivery Office has been moved to Bradford North Delivery Office in Inkersley Road, Bradford, and is on display in the Customer Enquiry Office. The Shipley site was sold following the relocation in March.”

The work on the car park is expected to be completed within the next week or so.