WITNEY’S main post office is to close.

The company yesterday announced plans to axe 70 of its main high street premises.

It hopes to reopen the branch as a franchise inside another shop in the town centre.

The Market Square branch in Prime Minister David Cameron’s constituency is the only Post Office earmarked for closure in Oxfordshire.

The Post Office nationally is currently operating at a £40m annual loss, and said it needed to close the 70 directly-managed Crown post offices to stem the losses.

A Post Office spokesman said it would look to retailers in Witney to offer a new home for its counter services.

It said no jobs were immediately at risk and pledged that if no franchise partner could be found, it would try to keep the town centre branch open.

The only other post office in Witney is in Burwell Drive, off Curbridge Road, but it does not offer the comprehensive range of services such as passport checking or driver and vehicle licensing services found at the town centre branch.

Witney town councillor Alan Beames said: “I'm surprised, it's always very busy. There are always long queues in there whenever you go inside. They put on so many vital services there. It's the only place around here you can get your passport forms.

“We will have to ensure Witney doesn’t lose this altogether.”