CONSERVATIVE parliamentary spokesman Karen Lumley is concerned Redditch will become a ghost town with regard to post offices, with only one remaining in the town centre.

She said two offices had already disappeared and expressed concern another two were now in the firing line.

Mrs Lumley said: "As a Batchley resident, I use the post office there regularly and have recently noticed a huge decline in its services.

"It used to be thriving with cards, sweets, ice creams and other useful accessories.

"If these two post offices close, that will be a quarter of Redditch post offices that have shut in 18 months."

Mrs Lumley added: "This is directly from legislation from a Labour Government that pensions and other benefits should be paid directly into bank accounts.

"This has led to less use of post offices and I know from conversations with our elderly they hate to go and put their pin number in at the post office and would love to return to the old system."

Redditch MP Jacqui Smith said: "Three and a half thousand post offices in the country were closed when the Tories were in power.

"The Government has invested £480 million to computerise the post office network to modernise services and contrary to Tory claims, people continue to be able to collect their benefits in acash at the post office if they wish.

"Going back to a paper system where fraud was commonplace is hardly a sensible option in the 21st century."