CONTROVERSIAL plans for wide-ranging post office closures across the county have drawn fresh condemnation from politicians.

Kent Green Party condemned the plans to close 58 sub post office, saying it would increase traffic congestion and deprive vulnerable people of a vital community service.

And Kent-based Euro MPs have also spoken out against the plans.

Dr Hazel Dawe, chair of the Kent Green Party, said: "If closed, the small shops which house them are likely to close to. Apart from job losses, closing a local service of particular importance to elderly people is tantamount to discrimination against them.

"But it will also force people to make journeys, often by car, which they would not otherwise have to make, contributing to Kent's congestion problems."

She added: "We should be looking instead at how to build up income in local post offices through diversification of businesses and use of preferential rates of business rates, helping independent businesses stay in operation."

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat MEP Sharon Bowles, who represents Kent, urged the Government to reverse its policy.

"The Brown and Blair governments have systematically cut investment in this vital service. Between 1999 and 2006, 112 post offices closed across Kent. Post offices are a necessity for thousands of people in Kent.

"They provide an important link to the local community and to key services. Many other European countries already recognise this fact and put the necessary investment into their post offices."

The Kent Campaign for the Protection of Rural England has also criticised the closures.

Dr Hilary Newport, director of CPRE Kent, said: "Post offices are a vital part of village life, not only because many of them are in shops which are helped by people using the counters, but because they play an important social role.

"Not everyone has a car or is able to use public transport from isolated communities to get into nearby towns, so it is urgent that people who depend on local services speak up and think of other ways of providing the service."