HUNDREDS of pensioners were left without money after a computer fault meant Post Office branches could not hand out cash.

The five-hour shutdown saw people turned away from post offices across Bolton and the entire country.

Banking services were also suspended before post office bosses managed to get the system running again at around 4pm on Monday afternoon.

The glitch affected customers who were given new electronic cards to access benefits from last year when the Post Office altered its method of paying benefits to customers.

One disgruntled pensioner, who asked not to be named, said: "I am a young 71 so it won't be too difficult for me to get back to the post office but for some of the older people they will have to make another trip.

"We never wanted these cards in the first place, we wanted to keep our books and then this sort of thing wouldn't happen but we weren't given a choice."

A spokesman for Post Office said: "The problems were caused by a computer fault. It was rectified by 4pm and we apologise to customers for any inconvenience."