Park Ward's Focus prediction on Post Office Closures comes true.

4.14.45pm UTC (GMT +0000) Sat 9th Dec 2006

Chapel Ash Post Office - already closed

There has been an angry reaction to reports that thousands of post offices are to be closed to save money. About 2,500 and 3,000 post offices - two-thirds of which are in rural areas - are expected to shut, after a government announcement. Royal Mail said the size of the network - which is losing money - depends on the level of government funding. A long battle by campaigners has seen four million people sign a petition calling for rural post offices to be saved.

The Government has gradually withdrawn work from post offices leaving then increasingly uneconomical. You can no longer renew a TV licence at a post office and the Post Office Card account has just been closed. The Park Ward November Focus had a petition to the Home Secretary to keep the Post Office Card which was signed by a very large number of signatures. The Focus warned that more post offices were likely to close.