TWO more district post offices have been earmarked for closure - sparking opposition from councillors angry at the "disgraceful" plans.

Newtown Post Office, Brindley Street, Stourport, and the town's Bewdley Road branch are set to stop serving customers for good in August.

The Post Office - which blames "too many outlets competing for too little business" - said it had agreed the plans with the two sub-postmasters as part of its national "restructuring" programme.

Two Kidderminster offices have already closed this year with a third in Aggborough now certain to shut in July.

People have until the end of this month to register their views on the proposed Stourport closures - but the Post Office said it will only change course if it has overlooked a key reason for keeping them open.

However, Wyre Forest district councillors for Lickhill Jill Fairbrother Millis and Irene Dolan have launched a petition to galvanise opposition.

Mrs Fairbrother Millis said: "It's the vulnerable groups which are going to be affected - the elderly, the disabled, women with children and those who haven't got any form of private transport.

"How are they expected to get to the post offices that are left? It's a disgrace."

The nearest branches are the Calder Road and Co-op outlets which are both less than a mile from the two threatened facilities, according to the Post Office.

But Mrs Fairbrother Millis added: "I have a constituent who is a full-time carer for her husband. She can only leave him for 10 to 15 minutes at a time.

"She pays all her bills at the Newtown Post Office and gets all her benefits there. How is she going to get to the post office in the Co-op store?"

Mrs Fairbrother Millis, who lives in Brindley Street and visits the 97-year-old Newtown branch, said she understood sub-postmasters needed to make a living but challenged the Post Office to allow them to offer more services such as lottery tickets.

The councillors will try to drum up support for the petition in the Manor Farm Estate and the Brindley Road and Windermere Way areas - as well as urging residents to use the threatened branches and write to the Post Office.

PO spokesman Richard Hall said: "We accept in closing a post office we will inconvenience some of our customers but we have to balance that with having a viable network for everybody. We're having a controlled closure programme where we make sure there is adequate provision."

Those wishing to get invovled in the campaign should contact Mrs Fairbrother Millis on 01299 827625 or Mrs Dolan on 01299 877146.

Views on the plans should be sent by June 30 to Paul Maisey, National Consultation Team, PO Box 641, St Albans AL1 5XN.

Fall in number of customers

CUSTOMER numbers are falling and most people are resigned to the closure, according to the sub-postmaster of one of the under-threat post offices.

Roy Hughes, who is quitting the Newtown branch after more than 10 years, said changing times made survival increasingly difficult.

"Our numbers have been falling over the last two years. The internet is used so much more and stamp sales are slipping down," he said.

"And when more people are in work fewer people draw benefits."

Mr Hughes, 59, added many benefits were now paid directly into bank accounts so people did not need to visit the post office.

But reactions to the probable closure are mixed.

"One or two customers are worried about it - mostly old people or people with disabilities or people who care for people with disabilities," he said.

"For the most part they're resigned because we're not too far from the main post office."

However, for many regular elderly customers the post office provides important "social contact" which will be lost, Mr Hughes added.

Brian Terry, 58, who has run the Bewdley Road branch for eight years, declined to give reasons for wishing to step down.