ONE of the region's Post Offices is to be among the first in the country to be placed into the hands of WHSmith.

The future of Post Office services in Middlesbrough are to be safeguarded after it was announced the main post office in Grange Road would be relocated to the WHSmith store in The Mall shopping centre nearby.

Some 70 Post Offices from around the UK are to be transferred to WHSmith, including the main Post Office in Newcastle.

They will all be transferred over by the summer of next year.

However, residents and shoppers in Middlesbrough are now being invited to comment on what kind of Post Office services they would like to see at the Middlesbrough shop during a six-week consultation period.

Full story in tomorrow's Northern Echo