TWO post offices in Sittingbourne are to close despite a campaign by local people to save one of them.

The Chaucer Road office will close on Tuesday, December 9, and the branch at Gadby Road will shut its doors the following day, December 10.

The Post Office, which says the closures have been agreed with the sub-postmasters who want to leave the businesses, are part of a national programme designed to safeguard the future of urban post offices.

When the closures were proposed in September, Grove ward councillor David Manning (Lib Dem) vowed to try to save the Gadby Road branch.

He said: "The council is opposed to the closure and there is a campaign to save it.

"It is well used by people in the area. I don't think it is a done deal until it closes."

Chaucer Road postmaster Melvyn Emmett said he was preparing himself for early retirement when the closures were mooted.

He said then: "We saw people going to the bank for their pensions and allowances and our trade was shrinking."

The Post Office said the decisions followed a month-long period of consultations during which the views of local people, groups and elected representatives, including MP Derek Wyatt, were sought.

Post Office head of area Drew McBride said: "We full appreciate the concerns of those who let us have their views and have taken account of them in making the final decisions.

"However, the issue is not about the future of an individual branch, but the overall viability of our urban network overall."

Mr McBride added: "The outgoing sub-postmasters will receive compensation on the closure of their branch from a £270 million fund approved overwhelmingly by MPs.

"The remaining post office branches are conveniently accessible to customers and are within a mile of Chaucer Road and Gadby Road branches."