That is the strong message going out from postmasters and mistresses whose post offices have been earmarked for closure.

The Evening Telegraph's Hands Off Our Post Office campaign has gathered pace, and now is the time for you to have your say during the public consultation period, which ends on August 26.

Hands Off Our Post Offices petition:
Download the The ET's petition as a PDF.
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Read more: Special Report: Hands Off Our Post Offices
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This week, The ET revealed that 26 post offices across Cambridgeshire, including three in Peterborough and six in the immediate area, faced the stark prospect of shutting up shop.

Since then, support to keep them open has spiralled, with community leaders and customers voicing their concerns.

Postmasters, whose jobs are under threat, are calling on people to drop into their nearest under-threat branch and sign the ET petition.

Wisbech post mistress Nisha Maiya said her branch, in Harecroft Road, was perhaps one of the busiest offices facing the cull.

Mrs Maiya, who has run post office for four years employing three full-time members of staff, said she was "absolutely gobsmacked" when she first found out.

She added: "We are quite a busy post office and a lot of people rely on us. We are also a store, but without the post office side it will die.

"I was truly speechless when I first heard. We escaped once and thought we would be OK. I was gobsmacked when the new list was revealed.

"We have asked our MP, Malcolm Moss, to come and sign the petition on Friday, and we hope lots of other people do too."

Mr Moss plans to challenge the proposed closures during the consultation period.

He said: "I will be challenging the changes primarily on behalf of the elderly and those with restricted mobility who depend heavily on their local post offices."

Closer to home, branches in Woodston, New England and West Town, all face closure, and each of them has been stocked with ET petition forms.

Conservative MPs Shailesh Vara and Stewart Jackson have both condemned the proposals.

Mr Vara, who represents North West Cambridgeshire, has urged people to put pressure on Post Office bosses by signing The ET petition, which he plans to present to Downing Street.

Mr Vara said: "The closure of the branches in my catchment will affect any number of people. Those who suffer will, inevitably, be the elderly and the infirm.

"I will do everything I can to put pressure on the Post Office, and I urge everyone to do the same."

The Post Office has already said it is planning to soften the blow of proposed branch closures by introducing scaled down replacement services in some rural areas.

People can also express their views on the proposals at www.postoffice.co.uk/networkchange.