The stores in lower Seaside Lane, in Easington Colliery, Salters Lane, in Shotton Colliery and Yoden Road, in Peterlee, which has been temporarily shut for over a year, are all to close.

It follows a six-week public consultation by the Post Office that ended on August 11 and saw more than 3,000 people respond to the proposal to close 80 branches across North East England.

Out of those, postal chiefs announced yesterday that a total of 56 in Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear will shut.

Adrian Wales, Post Office network development manager for the region, said: "These are difficult decisions which have not been taken lightly.
We have considered very carefully all the comments made during the public consultation.

"We believe that the plan offers our customers in this area the best prospect for a sustainable network in the future, bearing in mind the Government's minimum access criteria and the other factors the Government has asked us to consider."

Hugh High, an Easington District councillor who represents Haswell and Shotton, says he understands the closures need to take place but worries for the elderly living around Salter's Lane.

"We half expected this to happen, sadly it is a sign of the times,"
said Coun High. "The branch will be sorely missed. It is a straight mile to the next one in Shotton so will affect the elderly mainly. It's a bit of a trek and some will struggle."

Last year the Government and the Post Office started a review which could see the closure of 2,500 branches across the country.

At the time, Post Office chiefs said the business was losing £4m a week due to a loss of services and customers.

The Raby Estate, Elwick Road and Hart post offices, in Hartlepool, have already closed after their separate consultation period came to an end at the beginning of the summer.

At the same time, two post offices in Billingham, the Cowpen Estate, in Cowpen Lane, and Wolviston Court, in Clifton Avenue, were also forced to close along with the branch in Front Street, Hutton Henry.