POSTAL workers involved in disputes over pay and pensions have attended the House of Commons to discuss the matter with an East Lancashire MP.

Greg Pope, MP for Hyndburn and Haslingden, met several representatives and members of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) on Tuesday to speak about their dispute with Royal Mail.

The MP will now write to chief executive Adam Crozier urging him to engage in talks with staff and has backed an Early Day Motion calling for the same action.

Mr Pope said: "I am very concerned that the universal postal service may disappear.

"We've already seen changes which we were told would make the Royal Mail more efficient but which in my opinion have made the service worse.

"We could now be about to see the break-up of the universal delivery system."

He added: "I know that postal workers in East Lancashire don't want to be on strike but they feel that they have no option.

"What is needed is for the management of Royal Mail to enter into some meaningful talks to try and resolve this dispute and allay the fears, not just of postal workers, but also of the rest of us who rely on the service. "Members of the CWU were today due to start the next series of strikes which will disrupt mail deliveries for the next two weeks East Lancashire members of the union are to stage 24 hours strikes starting on Friday night and on Thursday, August 2.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has urged the Government to intervene in the dispute after claiming the walk outs were putting jobs at risk.

The FSB said that small firms were being "caught in the crossfire" of the row over pay and jobs.