CABINET Minister Jack Straw has asked his own government to prevent the closures of a community chemist.

The Blackburn MP said the pharmacy in the Wensley Fold area of Blackburn was vital because of the high proportion of elderly people who live there.

He has written to Patricia Hewitt, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, asking her to intervene and ensure it is kept open.

Witton Pharmacy, in Redlam, is under threat, along with chemists across the country, from proposed changes in the way sites for new chemists are approved.

The Government is due to consider an Office of Fair Trading report recommending the service is de-regulated.

Mr Straw has already backed the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's campaign to save community chemists.

But he is especially concerned for Wensley Fold, as it could be hit by a 'triple whammy' with its post offices in Witton Bank and Johnston Street also being earmarked for closure. Mr Straw said Wensley Fold needed the facilities because:

it was in the worst 10 per cent of wards nationally

it has 1,300 pensioners, of which 691 were living on benefits

it has the second highest ranking in the borough for health and disability and was within the worst 10 per cent in the country

Post Office Ltd said there were other post offices nearby that people could use.

But Mr Straw said: "What does not seem properly to be taken into account of in many towns like Blackburn is that it comprises 'tight urban villages.'

"Although population densities are different from rural areas, these 'urban villages' are similarly introspective. The elderly people in this area will simply not be able to travel the mathematical formulae they tell them they must travel."