THE closure of seven post offices in this city is a stab in the back to all the people who use them.

No thought whatsoever has been given to the people who use these post offices.

Elderly people are going to find the journey time taken to reach an alternative post office will greatly increase. People should expect to allow twice the time needed at present to reach their nearest post office.

It is strange that the pension service, when notifying pensioners of the option of choosing direct pension payment into a post office card account, made no mention of pending post office closures then.

Doug Barnes, aged 84 and disabled,

Anne Street, York.

...I WRITE to protest against the possible closure of our post office in Bishopthorpe Road. I am 83 and my wife is 79. We both suffer from arthritis and have difficulty in walking. We just manage to walk to the post office, which is only a few yards from our home. It is not just the post office to us, it is a place where we meet our friends once a week, for a natter. I hope this letter will help keep our post office open.

HW McCabe,

St Benedict Road, York.

Updated: 09:51 Wednesday, August 25, 2004