COUNCIL chiefs are calling for a community revolt across Kent over plans that could see more than 50 post offices axed.

Kent County Council has launched a campaign it hopes will trigger mass opposition to controversial plans for swingeing cuts to the post office network.

Kent will be the first county in the country to be affected by a national review of post offices and is bracing itself for an announcement about closures later this month.

It is feared as many as 59 of the county's 309 post offices may be earmarked for closure, many in rural towns and villages as part of a national review sparked by rising losses and fewer people using the network.

Now KCC is encouraging people to sign a petition to show the strength of support there is for post offices, in the hope it could limit the extent of the wide-ranging closures feared.

It is also demanding Post Office chiefs give people enough time to have their say. Just six weeks is being allowed for public consultation over any closures, which KCC says it "utterly unacceptable".

The council fears the extent of possible closures could have a devastating impact on communities and leave many people, especially the elderly, even more isolated. It is also feared that hundreds of small businesses could be adversely affected.

County council leader Paul Carter pledged to make "a hell of a noise" over the closures and urged people in Kent to join the protests.

He said: "The message to residents is very simple: use it or lose it. We believe Kent's communities cannot afford to lose their post offices, so we are doing everything we can to support them and put their needs first."

It was vital Post Office chiefs were forced to recognise the community role played by many local post offices serving often isolated communities and appreciated the social value many elderly and vulnerable people placed on being able to go to their local post office.

"The Post Office has got to explain what it hopes to achieve by destroying something that is a central part of many communities. The review has got to be more than just looking at the balance sheet and allowing the Post Office to balance its budget," he added.

Cllr Roger Gough (Con), KCC’s cabinet member for regeneration, said Kent’s economy could be damaged by closures.

"A third of all small businesses in the county are based in rural communities and generate £5billion for the economy. Their lives and the growing number of people working from home could be made much more difficult if local post offices shut."

The petition will be available to sign on Kent County Council’s website from next week and the council says it will make sure that those without access to the internet will have other ways of registering their support for the campaign.