The axe has fallen on all four post offices earmarked for closure in Keighley and Ilkley, it was announced today.

Branches in Bradford Road, Stockbridge; East Morton; Belgrave Road, Keighley; Leeds Road in Ilkley; and a further post office in Farnhill, near Skipton, are all to go. The first closures are scheduled for late March.

It follows a national cull by Post Office Ltd, which will move to Bradford later this year.

In the latest round of closures across North Yorkshire, Yorkshire East and Keighley, a total of 29 post offices are to close, with 23 branches being replaced by outreach services.

There were various campaigns across the district to try to save the branches. Bradford Council used the six-week consultation period, which ended three weeks ago, to hold two public meetings and survey all branches. It resulted in a formal opposition to the closures being lodged.

The closures are part of Post Office proposals to shut 2,500 sub post offices around the country. Bradford will be dealt with separately and consultation on possible closures there will begin in May.

Adrian Wales, Post Office Ltd's network development manager for the North East, said: "These are difficult decisions which have not been taken lightly. We have considered very carefully all the comments made during the public consultation.

We believe that the amended plan announced today offers our customers in this area the best prospect for a sustainable network in the future, bearing in mind the Government's minimum access criteria and the other factors the Government has asked us to consider."