RESIDENTS in Darwen have been reassured that there are no immediate plans to close any of the town's post offices.

But they have been warned that a closure programme for the town maybe drawn up in the future.

Rumours spread through the town that most post offices in Darwen were to close under the widespread closure scheme currently being implemented across East Lancashire. Feared closures of post offices in Bolton Road, Blackburn Road, London Terrace and Harwood Street would have left only the main Darwen Post Office, in The Circus, open.

But a spokesman for Post Office Counters Limited today quashed the rumours and said they were likely to be just that. He said: "If we are going to close a post office we have to go through a procedure of consulting the people and we would send a press release to the local media to inform people of the proposals.

"There have been some post office closures in Blackburn but these are done on a constituency basis."

But he added: " We have not announced a plan for Darwen and Rossendale so until there is such a plan there are no details as to whether one, two or none of the post offices in this area will close."

Labour councillor Michael Barrett said: "We are assured by the post office that they have no plans for a major close-down of post offices in the Darwen area. On that basis we will hold them to that promise over the next weeks and months."