A PETITION has been launched to save Ramsbottom’s post office following Morrisons takeover of The Co-op.

Staff at the instore post office were yesterday given 90 days redundancy notices, which will come into effect unless a new base is found. Last week it was announced employees of The Co-op will transfer to Morrisons when they take over the King Street store in April.

But supermarket bosses have now confirmed the post office will close in three months unless a buyer is found to take-on the franchise.

A spokeswoman for The Co-operative Group said: “We have investigated the possibility of moving the post office to another location. However, we do not have suitable premises in the area.”

Parliamentary candidate for Bury North, David Nuttall, visited the post office and surrounding businesses yesterday to distribute petitions against the closure.

Mr Nuttall said: “We had a similar situation in Bury when there was no post office at all for months. If action is taken now to find somewhere there is no reason why there should be a gap in service.”

A spokesperson from Post Office Ltd said: “We would like to assure our customers that we are doing all we can to maintain a branch in the area.”