Powys has lost 19 post offices over the past six years, it was revealed today – as the number of branches in Wales dropped below 1,000 for the first time.

The closures mean that rural communities in the county are being cut off from vital services, it was claimed today. Roger Williams, MP for Brecon and Radnor, said the Government’s plan to axe 2,500 branches across Britain had cut people off from th-eir communities.

Mr Williams’s comments came after a Parliamentary Question revealed that the number of post offices in Wales has dipped below 1,000 for the first time.

Figures for 2008/2009 shows only 971 post offices operating in Wales compared to 1,399 in 2001. And since 2003 more than 300 post offices have closed, most of them in rural areas.

During that time 19 post offices closed in Powys leaving just 95 branches in the county.

Mr Williams said: “I do not believe that less than 1,000 post offices can be expected to provide a proper local service across the whole of Wales and I am deeply disappointed that Wales is being hit so hard by the closure programme.”

He said while most areas still have a post office within a three-mile radius, this was often too far away for people in rural areas to travel, especially if they do not own a car and rely on local bus services.

“I know from speaking to people in Brecon and Radnorshire that many already find it difficult to get to their local post office and I am really concerned that older or disabled people may now struggle to get there at all, cutting them off from this vital local service,” he said.

“These figures clearly show that Wales’s Post Office network is being seriously damaged by the Government’s ill-judged closure programme. We need to end this ridiculous scheme and ensure that the Post Office is given the support and funding it needs to maintain a proper service throughout Wales.”

A Post Office spokesman said today: “The figure quoted for the number of post offices in Wales by Mr Williams is correct and reflects the fact that the UK Government’s minimum access criteria to post office products and services are being met across the UK, including Wales.”

By Deborah Knox