MPs were today due to vote on a controversial £210m package which could spark the closure of up to 31 post offices in Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

Consignia was seeking Parliamentary approval for its plans to axe up to a third of Britain's urban post outlets - a total of around 3,000 across the country.

According to the Liberal Democrats, that means six post offices are under threat in Worcester itself, and a further 25 in the two counties' other Parliamentary constituencies.

The Government wants to grant £210m to Consignia, of which £180m would be spent on compensation for sub-post masters leaving the business.

The remaining £30m will be set aside to revamp the remaining urban outlets, by providing improved facilities, longer opening hours and better access for the disabled.

The package was expected to face fierce resistance from opposition MPs, who fear it could rip the heart out of already vulnerable communities.

But, in an interview with the Evening News, Consignia's executive director, Alan Barrie, insisted there was no alternative to closing the outlets.

More than 3,400 sub-post masters had signalled their desire to quit, because they recognised that urban post offices were too close together to survive, Mr Barrie said.

Even after the three-year closure programme, 95 per cent of people in urban areas would still live within one mile of a post office.

"Anyone who votes against this will be voting for the status quo, which will mean a guaranteed spiral of decline instead of carefully managed change," said Mr Barrie.

"Many of the sub-post masters wanting to leave recognise they are struggling because they are not in viable locations.

"And, even after these change, there will still be far more post offices than every bank and building society in the country put together."

Ministers were expected to sweeten the pill by announcing a £450m cash injection over three years to prevent the closure of rural post offices.

A post office is considered to be "urban" if it is in a settlement of more than 10,000 people.

According to Liberal Democrat research, six out of 19 post offices in Worcester will close, Hereford would lose six out of 46; and Wyre Forest six out of 30.

Mid-Worcestershire would lose two out of 30; Bromsgrove three out of 23; and West Worcestershire three out of 38. There will be no closures in Leominster.