THE Post Office is using a misleading "as the crow flies" system of calculating distances between rural post offices, which could greatly increase the risk of closure in some communities, reports Allan Tunningley.

That is the claim made by retired auditor Sue Bond, who has painstakingly checked postcodes on Post Office Ltd's website in a bid to anticipate which sub-post offices around Coniston, Langdale, Windermere and Grasmere are likely to close as part of plans to axe 2,500 branches nationwide.

The Post Office says that 95 per cent of people within rural areas should live within three miles of a post office, but Mrs Bond claims the company gives no indication how the distance is calculated.

She said: "I live near Hawkshead and started reviewing the Post Office figures when I input my postcode on their website and it said we were within three miles of three post offices - Langdale 2.7 miles, Coniston 2.8 miles, Hawkshead 1.1 mile.

"But checking on Multimap I found that we are 4.61 miles from Langdale, 3.48 miles from Coniston and 1.32 miles from Hawkshead, which made me realise their calculations are not using road distances.

"The mileage figures on their website suggest that the distance is as the crow flies. The only post offices which are within three miles of each other by road are Elterwater and Grasmere and Troutbeck and Windermere."

Mrs Bond believes the misleading mileage calculations could lead to some post offices being axed because they appear to be closer to other branches than they really are.

More than 40 sub-post offices in South Lakeland have been put on a high risk' list and it is feared that up to a dozen will definitely be forced to close next year as part of the Post Office's rationalisation strategy.