POST OFFICE closures are forcing customers to move home, face unaffordable journeys or suffer financial penalties for not paying their bills on time.

Consumer organisation Citizens’ Advice says that post offices are closing at the rate of two a week – more than 200 in the last two years.

Small communities are being cut off from local financial services, individuals are being isolated, and many face extra costs to pay their bills as a result.

Citizens Advice’s report says another 1,291 post offices have been “temporarily” closed for more than two years.

The report says one woman, who depended on the Post Office for paying bills and topping up her energy meter, moved house after the local office closed because she could not afford bus fares to the nearest one. 

Shortly after moving house, the Post Office in her new village shut.

Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Post offices sit at the centre of our communities.

“They help many small businesses thrive, stop already isolated communities being cut off entirely, and enable people to carry out essential tasks, like paying bills, but they’re at breaking point.

“We’re currently losing two post offices a week, and outreach services often aren’t an adequate replacement.

"Maintaining Post Office investment is crucial or the service will never keep pace with the needs of the communities it’s intended to serve.”

A Post Office spokesperson said: “The Post Office does not accept that this report accurately reflects our network of 11,500 post offices that has been stable for a decade.”