A RESIDENTS' group is to discuss the planned closure of Whitebirk Post Office at a public meeting tonight.

Whitebirk and Intack Tenants and Residents' Association will be holding the meeting at Accrington Road Community Centre, Blackburn, at 6pm.

The Whitebirk sub-post office, in Burnley Road, is due to close in September, while other offices at Intack and Furthergate will remain open and are due to be refurbished.

The Post Office has said the Whitebirk branch struggles to make a profit and does not justify more investment.

Across the country the Post Office is axing 3,000 of its 9,000 branches in a bid to ensure the others remain viable.

But it is also aiming to ensure 95 per cent of the population live within one mile of a post office.

Post Office managers recently turned down an invitation from residents' association chairwoman Jacqueline McGrew , of Devon Road, to discuss the plan with the association, saying demand to attend meetings outstrips availability.

Mrs McGrew said: "We'll see what the feeling is at tonight's meeting and take it from there."