A Fareham post office will close next month - despite strong public support for it to stay open.

The Post Office has confirmed it is to close the High Street branch at Wickham Road after a four-week consultation.

During that time customers, the council and Fareham MP Mark Hoban all lodged their objection to the plans but despite their views the outlet will still close.

Sub post-master at the branch for 13 years Amanda Woolf said: "Of course it will be a sad day when we close but I am not surprised.

"All our customers have said how sad they are to see us go and it will be strange not running this place any more but, to be honest, there just isn't the business.

"I know we had strong support during the consultation but at the end of the day it comes down to the profitability and whether it makes sense to keep going, and obviously it doesn't."

But the closure has come in for strong criticism from Mr Hoban, who questioned the point of the public consultation when the outcome was still closure.

He said: "The Post Office acts as judge, jury and executioner. Despite concerns of local people about the inconvenience of alternative post offices and the impact of the closure of the branch on elderly people, the Post Office has decided to close it.

"It is not clear to me how many people need to object to a closure for the Post Office to reverse its plans to close a branch. I have written to the Post Office to find out just what people need to do save their local post office.""We still don't know how many post offices in Fareham are earmarked for closure. It is time for the Post Office to come clean on its plans to axe sub-post offices in Fareham so that people can fight to save their local office."Customer Nora Court echoed Mr Hoban's views, she said: "It might be that not many people use the smaller Post Offices but for those who do they are essential. I think it wrong to close them."

But Post Office boss Drew McBride defended the decision to close the High Street outlet. "Proposals to close branches are not made without considerable research and last Spring all sub postmasters what they wanted to do.

"We then consulted customers MP's and other community representatives. We are confident that customers will still have reasonable access to Post Office services," he said.

Dozens of Post Offices across Hampshire are set to close as part of a national restructuring programme, according to a Daily Echo poll 88 per cent of urban sub post offices were considering closing down.

But the fate of the High Street branch has already been decided - it will cease trading on February 19.