The West tradition of Punkie Night arrived in Westminster yesterday as villagers carrying mangel wurzel lanterns marched to Downing Street to warn Gordon Brown they will fight to keep their post office.

The Somerset protest took place on the day that Post Office Ltd announced the proposed closures of 28 branches in Dorset.

A coachload of campaigners arrived in London from Hinton St George, near Crewkerne, demonstrating the same determination that village wives demonstrated centuries ago when the Punkie Night tradition was founded.

Legend has it that the men of the village got drunk and failed to come home after Chiselborough Fair. Their wives armed themselves with lanterns carved from mangel wurzels and set out to find them.

The tale has led to the Punkie Night parade each October 30 and the singing of unique song.

Villagers set new words to it as they marched from the Houses of Parliament, led by Matthew Bryant, who normally leads the village parade, wearing top hat, red and white spotted neckerchief and ringing a bell.

Derek Esp and Mr Bryant's wife Kirsten played violins as they chanted: “We don't think that it's right, we don't think that it's right,

“So Mr Brown we've come to Town, for Hinton's going to fight.

“Hinton's going to fight, Hinton's going to fight,

“We want to see democracy, we don't think that it's right.”

Yeovil MP David Laws helped lead the parade that included Mr Bryant's 11-month-old daughter, Tess, carried by Kirsten.

Mr Laws said: “No one could ignore Hinton's protest against the closure of the village's post office.

“I am very grateful to everyone who took the time to travel up to London and make their point so forcefully, and to all those who have supported this campaign in other ways.

“Closing Hinton St George Post Office would be bad for the village, bad for the environment and bad for the local economy.

“Post Office Limited should not ignore the strength of the feeling in the local community, and nor should they punish Hinton just because another branch was kept open elsewhere.

“I hope that this protest and petition will show the Government and Post Office Limited how strongly people around the country feel about their local services, and that this post office will be kept open.”

After handing in a petition to Number 10, parish council chairman Fred Voss said: “We've certainly drawn everyone's attention to our situation.

We must thank David Laws for all his support. He told us he is really impressed with our campaign and we are hopeful for a good result.

“It would be devastating to lose the post office and the shop is the heart of the village.”

The branch was not on the original hit-list for closure in the county. It was added after three others on the original list won a reprieve.

Twenty-four of the post offices proposed for closure in Dorset are in grocery stores or garages which could also now be at risk. The closure plans have brought strong protests from MPs.

D orset Community Association's community fieldworker Simon Thompson said: “ This is a bad day for Dorset. For a community to lose its post office, a public service at the heart of local business, is sad enough but we now see vulnerable shops and fuel stations placed under threat as well.”

Of the 28 closures, 15 are in villages. Four of these – Buckhorn Weston, Buckland Newton, Chettle and King's Stag – will be offered “outreach” post office facilities which will be run for a few hours a week from an agreed village location.

The Purbeck tourist hot-spot of Worth Matravers will lose the office which already opens only three mornings a week.

Sixty per cent of village houses are second homes, which has cut the post office's business.

Postmaster Derek Ralls, 64, said: “We are not really surprised. It is a shame, but I would rather it was us, who are near retirement, than others who are not.”

The Countryside Alliance has urged every community to fight closure and will send each threatened office a pack outlining how best to campaign.

R obert Gould, leader of West Dorset District Council, said: “We are aware of the importance of the post office in many of our communities and have been preparing for this announcement for the last 18 months.

“We have conducted our own research, helped local communities to prepare and set aside funding to help with new outreach services and to help shops that may be affected where they share premises with a post office.

“We have arranged a briefing for elected members later this week with Post Office Limited, Post Watch, Dorset Community Action and others.”

A seven week consultation period, ending on September 1, will now take place mainly during the school summer holidays.

Parish and district councils and local organisations which rarely meet in August have been organising special meetings to discuss and respond to the plan. The final decision will be announced on September 23 and formal closures will begin in October.

Dorset Community Action has written to parish and town clerks in the affected areas of Dorset and has offered to help make an effective response.