MP Gareth Johnson has expressed his concern at the the possible relocation of the town's post office.

Dartford Post Office, in Hythe Street, is set to be relocated to the nearby WHSmith store, in High Street.

It comes as a deal between the two wants to relocate up to 40 offices in 2019, as well as 33 others being taken over by the retailer.

The move is thought to open the door for longer hours, including Sundays.

A confirmed date for this has not been announced, but any proposed changes will be subject to a six-week public consultation for residents.

Gareth Johnson thinks the proposal raises some issues.

He said: “The proposal to move the Post Office in Dartford to the WHSmith store is very concerning.

"While this kind of change has worked well in some other areas, we need assurances that people will still be able to access the vital services they provide.

"WHSmith opens for longer hours than the current post office and also opens on a Sunday so, although there is no information on what the new operational hours would be, it could lead to post office services being more accessible.

"I have sought urgent assurances on these issues from the post office and have spoken with them over the future of the seventeen people employed at the existing branch.

"The Post Office have agreed to work with each of them to find suitable positions elsewhere in the post office or at the WHSmith store.

"This proposal also raises capacity issues. The queues in the current post office can be very long sometimes and so we need to know how WHSmith would deal with the large demand in their fairly small store.”