CAMPAIGNERS battling to save seven Valleys post offices from closure have taken their fight to Westminster.

A delegation from Blaenau Gwent council met Trade Minister Stephen Timmins yesterday to protest about plans to close six branches in Ebbw Vale and one in Tredegar - part of a planned closure programme of 16 offices across Gwent.

Eight councillors were joined by Blaenau Gwent MP Llew Smith to express their fears over the impact the Post Office plans will have on the Tredegar and Ebbw Vale communities.

Mr Smith said: "We are committed to continuing this fight. We wanted to put across the arguments against these planned closures.

"Our view is that despite the consultation process going on, the Post Office has not listened to our communities."

The meeting also marks the end of the Post Office's much criticised public consultation period in which hundreds of Blaenau Gwent residents have registered opposition to the plans.

A total of 16 post offices will close over the coming months in Gwent as part of the restructuring.

The threatened post offices in Blaenau Gwent are at Badminton Grove, Beaufort Hill, Garnlydan, Rassau, Willowtown, and Waunlwyd office in Ebbw Vale and Cefn Golau in Tredegar.

Protesters say the closures will cause further hardship for the region's ageing population and high levels of disabled people.

Blaenau Gwent AM Peter Law has described the plans as "the slaughter of the postal network." Mr Smith said: "There is unanimity of opposition to these closures, but they have treated these communities with contempt."

He added that the plans ran against the government's commitment to help tackle social exclusion in the country's poorest communities. The Post Office says the proposed closures are a necessary part of the nationwide restructuring to ensure the long-term survival of the business. In December hundreds of residents travelled to Cardiff to demonstrate outside the National Assembly.