PEOPLE in Bolton and the rest of the country have been hit hard by the closure of post offices, Tory Party chairman Liam Fox has claimed.

Dr Fox made a surprise visit on Monday to the closed Doffcocker post office in Chorley Old Road to hear about the problems facing pensioners.

The post office was among 14 across the borough which were axed earlier this year, causing anger among local communities.

Dr Fox, who was campaigning for Conservative candidates in the local government elections next month, criticised the way consultations about the closures had been conducted.

He said his party would order a review of all closed post offices which have been shut down if the Tories came to power at the next general election.

New ways needed to be found to make post offices profitably viable, he said.

Dr Fox also pledged that a Conservative government would make life easier for the elderly by linking pensions to income rather than prices.

He said: "The loss of post offices has had a real impact on communities, particularly pensioners who are least able to travel farther distances.

"A lot of people feel the consultation over closures has been a farce. They believe the people making the decisions have little understanding of local circumstances."

Dr Fox said post offices should only be closed after all relevant parties had been consulted including users, MPs, local public bodies and councils.

"We have to find ways of making them more attractive and more profitable and looking at where we can situate them, perhaps within other existing shops to keep them in the locality," he said.

"We will also have to look at a wide range of measures affecting regulation and services."

Bob Allen, Conservative candidate for the Heaton and Lostock ward, said: "The loss of the post office has had a enormous effect on this area.

"The next nearest post office is 10 minutes away. Doffcocker post office was a focal point for the community and a real community resource."

Dr Fox hoped that his party would have success in targeting metropolitan councils in next month's election, but refused to predict the outcome of the council election in Bolton.

Each of the council's 60 seats will be put to the ballot on June 10.

The election, which will be held by a postal vote, will run simultaneously with the European elections to choose nine North-west MEPs.