FINANCIAL pressures are forcing many of our post offices out of existence. During the last few days the closure of one Atherton Post Office has been announced and the future of another Bolton branch thrown into doubt by the retirement of its subpostmaster. Roger Williams looks at the issue.

WHAT do the Sumatran Rhinoceros, the Afghan Snow Leopard and the smaller British post office have in common?

The answer, many fear, is that all are threatened with extinction. Last year the Post Office announced plans to close 3,000 of its 9,000 urban branches. It invited struggling subpostmasters to apply for a compensation package and shut up shop, saying there were simply too many post offices competing for too little business.

Those closures are already beginning to bite. Barring a dramatic last minute reprieve, Darcy Lever post office will be the first in Bolton to disappear.

Atherton's Hindsford Road and Wigan Road post offices are also scheduled for closure within the next two months.

There is uncertainty, too, when subpostmasters leave whether anyone will come forward to replace them. Lostock Post Office, where subpostmaster Donald Berry is retiring, could be forced to close unless a replacement and new premises are found.

And if the future doesn't look troubled enough already, post office prospects will be further rocked in April when government changes to the way benefits are collected come into force.

An estimated 40 pc of post office revenue comes through people going to their local branch to collect payments -- either through a small administrative fee for each transaction or through claimants making other purchases while they are in store.

But from April 1 benefits claimants will be able to have their money paid directly into bank accounts. There will still be an option to have cash paid into a 'no frills' post office account but early indications are that this option will not be available to everyone.

Don Fairclough, subpostmaster of Astley Bridge Post Office in Blackburn Road, said: "We don't know how the benefits changes are going to affect us until they happen. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

"There are definitely going to be fewer post offices. The government effectively think there are so many that it doesn't matter if we lose a few. It's just a question of how much business is left for the rest of us."

He is hoping that the friendly, personal service local post offices can provide relative to banks will persuade many to keep collecting benefits such as family allowance and pension over the counter.

"If you go to a bank they require all sorts of proof of identity and it can take a long time to queue up. At the post office you can be in and out within minutes because we know people."

Cllr Barbara Ronson, Liberal Democrat group leader on Bolton Council, says the importance of even the smallest post office should not be underestimated.

She said: "Often they become the heart of a small community. If there's a post office there's generally a cluster of small shops around and if you close it then there will be a knock-on effect on them too."

Cllr Ronson fears that while the Government is offering individuals the opportunity to continue collecting benefits at post offices now, this option may be removed once the majority of people are using bank accounts, further jeopardising branches.

With the Post Office losing £1.1 billion last year, it can hardly be blamed for trimming its operation. Senior managers have pledged to ensure 95 pc of people still live within a mile of their nearest post office.

But when post offices are threatened, nearby residents often protest that bosses have looked at maps without a real understanding of local terrrain - that pensioners might have to slog uphill to the next nearest branch, or young mothers have to cross a busy road.

Ironically, Post Office Group believe the greatest hope for branches which survive the cull of urban post offices lies in the resultant reduction in competition.

A North West spokesman said: "Historically there has been a post office on almost every corner in some areas but a lot of those have found it difficult to make ends meet, not least because of the changing shopping habits which mean people increasingly use supermarkets rather than local stores.

"The cake is just too small for everyone to have a piece."

Privately, Post Office bosses grumble that many of those who protest loudest and longest when a branch faces closure were not regular customers when the business was still a going concern.

However strong the arguments are in favour of retaining any given post office, only a profit on a balance sheet is going to preserve its long-term future. Anyone who wants to save their branch post office from going the way of the dodo will have to use it or lose it.