THE closure or threatened closure of post offices is nothing new. The past few years have seen many under threat particularly in rural areas, and that causes real problems especially for the elderly, infirm and those with young families.

These are people who cannot just jump in the car and drive to the nearest big town to use post office services.

The government's decision to pay benefits directly into bank accounts has speeded up the shut-downs by removing a major source of business without which many post offices just cannot survive as commercial units.

Urban post offices in the suburbs of towns are also at risk like the two in the Clitheroe area expected to close in July.

These make up a third of the Ribble Valley's urban post office total. As well as providing a centre for their own communities, these post offices are also the nearest for people in outlying villages where there are no facilities at all.

Of course it does not make sense for the Post Office to heavily subsidise loss-making buildings which are not used.

But other parts of Europe have managed to retain Post Office facilities in rural and urban areas by mixing them with other businesses.

With a little imagination and people recognising that services have to be used regularly to survive, it is difficult to see why the same cannot happen here.