Clergy and churchgoers are being urged to join in ongoing consultations on sub post office closures by the Archdeacons of Berkshire, Buckingham and Oxford.

A consultation document for west Berkshire was issued last month, announcing the planned closures of 14 Post Office branches in the area.

Local people now have until 31 January to respond to the document and the Post Office is taking part in a consultation process over the closures.

Older people in rural areas will be particularly hard hit without a post office nearby, as many rely on their post offices to collect pensions and benefit payments. According to the Diocese of Oxford, 80 per cent of rural post office customers over the age of 65 use their post office at least once a week.

More bad news is on the way, however, with the Post Office expected to announce the closure of more branches in the next six months.

"Post offices provide valuable services to the community," said the Archdeacon of Buckingham, the Venerable Karen Gorham. "Where they are under threat, partnerships between the local church and the post office are one way of keeping these services available."

She pointed to a number of dioceses that are opening up post offices inside church buildings.

"There is no reason why churches in this diocese shouldn't follow that example," she said.

"It is good use of our church buildings and gives them wider community use, as long as we can tackle issues such as security and flexibility. At the very least, churches should be discussing this option with their local communities and with post office officials."