POSTAL watchdogs have hit out at the decision to axe yet another Gwent post office.

Postal bosses formally announced the closure of the Pontywaun Post Office yesterday after weeks of speculation over its future.

The decision makes Pontywaun the third Gwent post office to close this summer under the the Post Office's "urban reinvention" programme. The other two closures were Bloomfield Road post office, Blackwood, and the Fields Park office in Newport.

Pontywaun postmistress Pat Perry, 52, said: "It is sad for the village but I think it is the way of the future for little post offices and I think this will be just the start.

"I will miss it because the people are not just my customers but my friends as well. But when one door shuts, another one opens."

Dave Barrett, the Post Office's head of the commercial urban network, Wales, said: "The harsh reality is that some urban post offices are struggling to survive because there are too many branches for the amount of business."

But a postal services watchdog has said the decision could affect disabled customers.

The chairman of Postwatch Wales, Eifion Pritchard, said: "Postwatch Wales very much regrets the need for Post Office Ltd to close Pontywaun. "Postwatch Wales, however, insists that the issue of inadequate disabled facilities at the receiving post offices in the area be addressed before any closure actually takes place."

Cross Keys councillor Michael Gray said: "I am extremely sorry and disappointed that the post office is to close. It will cause a great deal of inconvenience to many people."

Mr Barrett added that declining customers, increased running costs and the prospect of even less business once the Department of Works and Pensions transfers benefit payments from passbooks to bank accounts, were behind the closure.

He continued: "While we fully appreciate that using an alternative branch, albeit one which is a little further away, will be a major change for some, we have carefully considered both the local terrain and the facilities available within the area, particularly parking and public transport, in arriving at our final decision."