PM Gordon Brown got the news that 2,000 people are furious at the planned closures of seven branch offices in the Peterborough area and want him to intervene, when our petition was hand delivered to No 10 Downing Street.

The petition seeking action from the PM was backed by MP for North West Cambridgeshire Shailesh Vara, MP for Peterborough Stewart Jackson and leader of Peterborough City Council John Peach. The petition was backed up by passionate letters from residents saying how vital the threatened services are.

The branches facing the axe are in West Town, New England and Woodston in the city, and at Ramsey St Mary, Great Gidding, Holme and St Peters Road, in March.

As well providing vital services to customers, many of the branches are crucial to the post masters who run them. Their closure would be a blow for people like Roger Underhill, who owns the West Town branch in Mayors Walk and says it is his retirement "nest egg".

Mr Vara, Mr Jackson and Cllr Peach went to Downing Street with Evening Telegraph editor Mark Edwards and reporter Stephen Briggs to make sure the residents, many of whom are pensioners, had their voices heard.

After handing the petition in, Mr Vara said: "This is a very big petition and I very much hope that even at this late stage it will provide some help to keeping post offices open.

"They are a vital resources for communities, and if these branches are closed by the Government it will rip the heart out of the community.

"I have already spoken in Parliament about the closures, as well as written letters to Post Office Ltd, and very much hope that they take note.

"To those residents who have still not written to Post Office Ltd to complain about the closures, I would urge them to do so before the closing date of Tuesday, August 26."

Timeline of our 'Hands Off Our Post Offices' campaign.
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Mr Jackson added: "This is a message that the people in Peterborough care so much about their community services that they are willing to go to the highest level in the country.

"I hope that the Post Office will listen to what people have to say, and can see sense.

"The public consultation in the area closes in two weeks, and the more people that continue to write and e-mail to the Post Office the better.

"We have been promised a genuine public consultation, and the Post Office needs to see that people need these services."

And Cllr Peach added that the loss of the services would be a blow to many people in Peterborough.

He said: "A lot of people rely on a post office, and the numbers who signed the petition show that.

"I hope that their voices are listened to, and the decision to close the branches is reconsidered."