Award for popular postmaster who's been serving community for 30 years

IQBAL MOHAMMED HAS RUN SHOPS IN THE AREA SINCE 1975 AND TOOK ON THE POST OFFICE WITH HIS WIFE ZAHIDA 11:04, 02 Jun 2025 A popular postmaster who has been running shops in West Lothian for

the last 50 years has received a special award for his service at the heart of the community. Iqbal Mohammed has been running Livingston Village Post Office for 30 years and to mark the

milestone he was presented with a Long Service Award by Post Office Area Manager Brian McNaughton. Iqbal has run shops in the Livingston area since 1975 and the opportunity arose in 1995 to

take on Livingston Village Post Office with his wife Zahida. The couple are very well known in the area. They modernised the newsagents and convenience store and Zahida worked on the retail

side for most of that time, until she sadly she passed away in October. READ MORE: West Lothian Council get go ahead to undertake improvement works to Livingston Skatepark At first their

eldest daughter Shazia worked in the family business and their younger daughter, Nadia, is also Post Office trained. They also employ local people. Iqbal will forever be grateful to former

neighbours, John and Ella Gilbert who helped them greatly when they started. John had just retired as a long-serving postmaster in Armadale and really helped them to settle quickly into the

role of running a Post Office with all of the required knowledge of products and services. Article continues below Postmaster Iqbal Mohammed said: “The best thing about being a postmaster is

that I enjoy meeting people and everyone knows me. They cared when my wife died as Zahida had been a big part of this shop and we loved helping the community. READ MORE: Wind can't

stop West Lothian teenager as she puts fear aside and Children First with 100ft drop “We got to know people really well and we have enjoyed conversations and a laugh with customers. My wife

would often give sweets to little kids coming into the shop. “We managed to keep the Post Office and shop open throughout the pandemic, even though Zahida had underlying health conditions,

as we wanted to maintain vital services to our village.” READ MORE: West Lothian swim coach who thought stage 4 cancer diagnosis meant curtains for him is feeling great Post Office Area

Manager, Brian McNaughton, said: “I want to really thank Iqbal for being the postmaster for Livingston Village for the past three decades. He and his late wife, Zahida, who was also a lovely

person, have been at the heart of this community and have enriched the lives of people living in the village for a long time as well as new people who have moved to the community with the

extra housing built.” Article continues below DON'T MISS THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE WEST LOTHIAN COURIER. SIGN UP TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER HERE.