Post Office bosses have given up hope of finding a suitable candidate to take over their Headington Quarry branch.

The office shut temporarily after the retirement of its former sub postmaster but is set to be closed permanently following a public consultation, which will end later this month.

The closure is expected to lead to extended services at the larger Headington Post Office on London Road.

Other offices to shut in Oxford recently include Botley Road, Gladstone Road, Park End Street, George Street, Broad Street, St Michael's Street, High Street, Sunnymead, and Merewood Post Office in Sandhills.

Marie Vickers, of Quarry Residents' Association, said: "The local post office is somewhere you go to buy stamps and post parcels and I think it is an important part of people's lives.

"You need to have it easily accessible from people's homes.

"It marks the erosion of local services and the end of people writing letters to each other."

Post Office spokesman Dan Panes said the closure was part of a national re-invention scheme, which has involved the closure of small sub post offices across the country.

He said: "The difference is the Headington Quarry Post Office has already been temporarily closed. People have been using the main Headington branch for some time now and we are looking at closing offices which will have the least impact on customers.

"It has been closed since the retirement of the last post master and we have been unable to find anyone suitable to take it over."