Protesters met at the Cross Flatts Avenue Post Office and marched to the Beeston Road branch in Leeds just a short distance away carrying a home-made coffin.

The determined group of local residents arranged the protest after the recent announcement by Post Office bosses that the two branches would be axed.

They are both now closed.

The banner-waving group were supported by drivers who sounded their horns as they passed the branches. Local resident John Peckham, 60, told the YEP: "I don't think people will really realise just how important these post office branches are to the local community until they have gone.

"The consultation process on the closures has not taken into account the strong public feeling in the area against the closures.

"People automatically assume that everyone these days has access to cars and the internet, but that's just not the case and this is a vital resource for people round here."

The branches are among 22 post offices in Leeds which are to shut in the Post Office's latest cost-cutting plans.

Criticism of the Post Office has mounted after residents were
given only six weeks to make the case that their branch should be saved.

Another local resident Manny Dominguez, 33, said: "Like most people, I think the consultation process was a sham and they had made up their minds before they got any of the views of local people.

"These branches are a really important resource for the local community, not just as a post office but as a social hub for local residents."
A Royal Mail spokesman said: "Social issues are very carefully considered and a great deal of preparation work is undertaken locally before any proposal is submitted to local public consultation."

He added: "We believe these proposals offer the best prospect for a sustainable way forward for Post Office services, bearing in mind the minimum access criteria and the other factors we have to take into account."