Some areas will lose a third of their post offices

A pensioners' leader has described the move as "a massacre" which will hit older people in particular.

The Post Office has confirmed which of its sub post offices in Aberdeen and other towns are earmarked for closure.

It said the 95% of customers in urban areas will still live within a mile of a post office, but campaigners say vulnerable people will suffer.

In Aberdeen, where 14 of the city's 40 post offices are to close, local politicians and community leaders say the scale of the cuts is unacceptable and worse than they had expected.

Others in Peterhead, Montrose, Arbroath and Forfar are also to go.

Bill Knight, of the Grampian Senior Citizens Forum, described the scale of the closures as "a massacre" and said it would deprive vulnerable older people of an important local service.

In a statement, the Post Office said there were too many branches competing for too little business.