Michelle Coxall, who has run the Christchurch Post Office with her husband since February, said residents need to get behind the campaign to save the service.

The Post Office, which is in the Brimstone and Christchurch Stores on Church Road, is currently open four days a week.

But Post Office Ltd is looking to replace the service offered at the shop with a mobile Post Office operated just one hour a day.

Closing the Post Office will make life extremely difficult for villagers, especially the older and more vulnerable people who rely on public transport to get out of the village.

"We don't have a proper bus service, so people will find it difficult to get to other Post Offices. I have offered to cut the number of hours we open the Post Office in the store. I think that would be a much better option than closing it altogether and replacing it with a van," said Michelle.

She said many villagers were already galvanised into action and have written letters of protest, but she said more people need to join the campaign to ensure its success.

"It is up to the people to fight for the Post Office. They need to write to say how the closure will affect them. The more people who write the better," said Michelle, who has secured the backing of local MP Malcolm Moss.

Meanwhile Nisha Maiya, postmistress at the axe-threatened Harecroft Road Post Office in Wisbech, is continuing her campaign.

She has enlisted the help of local councillors and former Wisbech Mayor David Oliver, a Fenland councillor and town councillor Nick Meekins were due to meet with her yesterday afternoon.

Mr Oliver and Mr Meekins have joined the campaign and have written to the Citizen saying they are "shocked and appalled" at the intended closure.

They are urging everyone to show their support.

Nisha said people have so far been very supportive with more than 100 sending in letters of support directly to her.

Others have written to Mr Moss at the House of Commons in London expressing their concerns.

"We need to keep the campaign in the public eye. We need people to get behind us and fight to keep the Post Office," said Nisha.

Dozens of people have also written in support of saving the St Peter's Road Post Office in March, which is also threatened with closure.

Post Master Kiran Brahmbhatt has so far secured the support of local councillors, who have pledged to fight the closure, which will leave the whole of the south side of March without a Post Office.

Meanwhile Citizen readers have been busily sending in coupons printed in the paper over the past two weeks, and reproduced here.

The hundreds of coupons that have so far been sent in are being collated and will be presented to Mr Moss nearer the end of the consultation period, which is set to expire on August 26. He will add the coupons to the dossier he is preparing in support of saving the Fenland Post Offices.

Information is available at: www.postoffice.co.uk/networkchange or by telephone on 08457-223344 or by post at: National Consultation Team, Post Office Ltd, Freepost Consultation Team.