AT least 100 post offices in the region have closed or will close by the end of the year.

Figures obtained by The Northern Echo reveal 88 urban post offices have closed in the North-East and North Yorkshire since the restructuring was implemented in November 2002.

Twelve in County Durham and North Yorkshire are due to close next month, with nine more under threat.

Five other post offices, in Darlington, Bishop Auckland, Stanley and York, have been marked for closure, but dates have yet to be announced.

It brings the total number of post offices to close in the region to 105.

A spokesman for Post Office Limited said last night that 332 post offices remained in the North-East and North Yorkshire which he said put the figure "in perspective".

The cuts are part of the Post Office's "urban network reinvention programme", a £270m restructuring scheme that aims to cut branches to save money.

Since the programme of cuts was announced, it has faced strong opposition from residents, councillors and MPs in the region, who felt it would have a detrimental effect on the community.

Peter Beaty, of the charity Friends of Senior Citizens, campaigned to save the Neville Parade office in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, and collected a petition of 2,000 signatures. He branded the number of closures in the region as shocking.

He said: "It is appalling. I dread to think what will happen when our post office closes in three weeks' time.

"It is impossible for the lame, the blind, the disabled to get to the town centre office. The post office is the hub of the community.

"I believe the closure will have an adverse effect on the other businesses in the parade, because people will get their shopping when they go to the post office in the town centre."

Help the Aged said it was also concerned about the closures.

Spokesman David Sinclair said: "Help the Aged is extremely concerned about the future of sub-post offices. Post office closures cause enormous anxiety for older people living in towns and cities as well as in rural areas."

Post Office Limited said consultation had been carried out on all the urban offices and only those proposed for closure were offices where sub-postmasters had indicated they wanted to leave the business.

David Mellows-Facer, the head of area, said: "The harsh reality is that many urban offices are struggling to survive because there are too many branches for the amount of business."

Out of the post offices that went out to consultation, four have been saved. They are all in the Tyneside area.

Durham City Councillor Carol Wood campaigned to save the Gilesgate Moor and Nevilles Cross branches, in the city.

She said: "They are part of the community. For some people going to the post office, it might be the only person they speak to that day."