Young and old joined forces to show their support, and in just two months more than 5,000 signatures were collected.

Petition forms were given to newspaper vendors, placed in shop windows and in the Mail reception.

The landmark figure was reached just a couple of months after we revealed the branches under threat.

Staff and students at Hartlepool Sixth Form College and Hartlepool College of Further Education joined our campaign by placing petitions in their reception.

Branches under threat gained support from residents and councillors.

Former soldier Allan Barclay, 54, collected more than 1,000 signatures as part of his personal battle.Allan, who was medically discharged from the Army after more than 25 years service, gathered support to save the Elwick Road post office.

He said: "I am devastated. The decision could have gone either way because we put up a strong fight and the points we made were very valid.

"We handed over petitions but in the end it wasn't enough. It is terrible news.

The Elwick Road Post Office received a lot of support from campaigners, with Hartlepool pensioner Bill Sunley also collecting more than 1,000 signatures.

The 84-year-old retired boilermaker spent hours visiting local care and residential homes to show post bosses why the office is needed.

Mr Sunley said: "I am so disappointed because there are many old people living in this area of town. When the consultation team came to town I even gave them a map of all the old peoples' homes in the area.

"I am lucky because I drive but a lot of older people will have to walk to Oxford Road, and there are some really busy roads which are very dangerous."

Pensioner power was on show in Hart as OAPs tried to save their rural lifeline.

Jessie Stokes, 79, from Palace Row, rallied round her friends in the village to get as much support as possible.

She said: "I am fuming because we are going to lose our shop and post office. The Government should be ashamed. What harm is it doing in this little village? They should leave us alone."