CAMPAIGNERS trying to keep a post office in their area are today calling for a temporary one to be set up until permanent premises can be found.The campaign to save the sub office at Morrisons in Felixstowe has been dealt a fatal blow with the supermarket giant announcing it will close it on February 5.

CAMPAIGNERS trying to keep a post office in their area are today calling for a temporary one to be set up until permanent premises can be found.

The campaign to save the sub office at Morrisons in Felixstowe has been dealt a fatal blow with the supermarket giant announcing it will close it on February 5.

Councillor Mike Ninnmey said it would be a huge blow to 9,000 people the post office served, especially the elderly.

"This closure is far earlier than we expected - we had been led to believe it would probably be July, which would have given more time to find alternative premises," he said.

"Now it looks as if the area could be without this facility for several months.

"That will mean more people having to travel in to Felixstowe to use the main post office - there are already considerable queues there most days. Added to that, it will mean more traffic and more people looking for parking."

Mr Ninnmey called on Post Office Ltd to provide temporary facilities until a new office could be found.

"I know in some other places, services have been provided in a caravan or some other temporary venue - I hope they will look at that here," he said.

Post Office Ltd has said all possibilities were being explored to find a convenient location for a replacement post office.

It is understood the company has been contacted by a number of interested parties in the area with offers to run the service.

Morrisons had said it would not run the outlet at its store in Grange Farm Avenue but was quite happy for a new tenant to be found to keep it going or for it to move to alternative premises.

The supermarket company received a string of complaints about its decision to end the franchise for running the post office. It said running a post office was "not our line of business."

Nearly 2,000 people have signed a petition calling for the sub office to be saved.

Town councillors have also joined the battle. They have written to Post Office Ltd and asked Suffolk Coastal council if it can use its economic development powers to encourage someone to take up the business.

The in-store post office serves the Cavendish Park, Orwell Green, Grange Farm and Coronation estates, as well as all the firms based at Felixstowe port.