RESIDENTS have stepped up their campaign for a local post office with a 570-name petition.

People in the Roseberry Road area of Redcar are eager to see the new shopping parade provided with a post office, as originally promised.

Liberal Democrat representatives Glynis Abbott and Ian Swales have been pushing to have one included in one of the stores in Roseberry Road, which opened in July and replaced the community centre and shops.

The petition is now to be handed to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council in a bid to apply extra pressure in their quest for a local post office service.

Newcomen ward councillor Mrs Abbott said: "We were led to understand that the post office, which had been a vital service in the old Roseberry Square shopping centre, had been moved into the former Coast and Country Housing Office as a temporary measure before moving into the new Sainsbury's Local Store.

"Even the staff were expecting this to happen, as late as the end of June.

"The queues at the main post office in Redcar town centre are long enough, and many elderly people cannot stand for long in these queues."

Ian Swales, Liberal Democrat prospective Parliamentary candidate for Redcar, said: "We have had an absolutely tremendous response to the petition in a very short time.

"People in the area want to see a post office re-opened as soon as possible. We don't want this to be a casualty of the Government's post office closure programme.

"We want to ensure that the council does not let things lie and we need its help to ensure that the Post Office does everything it can to find someone willing to take it on."

The Northern Echo reported earlier this year how the Post Office was intending to provide a service at the new shops, once a willing retailer could be found.

Post Office field change advisor Bill Earnshaw said: "We apologise for the inconvenience this temporary closure will undoubtedly cause, but I can assure our customers that we will do all we can to restore service as soon as possible."

Council leader Councillor George Dunning said: "It's fundamental to the shopping centre that there is a post office.