Three post offices shut suddenly

The Post Office said 162 branches would remain open

Three Post Office branches in Dorset and Wiltshire have shut temporarily after the company running them went into administration.

The franchises in St Thomas Street, Weymouth, Trinity Street, Dorchester, and Castle Street, Salisbury, closed during the afternoon.

It comes after Counter Management Ltd, the company that ran the branches, ran up debts of £250,000.

The Post Office said it hoped to reopen the branches on Wednesday morning.

Administrator Mike Fortune of the Portland Group confirmed the closure on Tuesday after Counter Management Ltd, which ran the former branches and their associated shops, went into administration.

The Post Office is putting temporary management teams in to run the offices and their long-term future seems to be secure.

We are hoping to reopen the branches as soon as possible Spokeswoman, Post Office

Mr Fortune said most of the 45 staff employed by Counter Management Ltd should keep their jobs, but the future for about 10 staff who run the associated shops was not clear.

The BBC understands that staff at the branches were not paid on Tuesday as they had been due to.

A spokeswoman for the Post Office, said: "I can confirm that post office branches at Weymouth (St Thomas Street), Dorchester (Trinity Street) and Salisbury (Castle Street) have closed temporarily this afternoon due to circumstances beyond our control.

"We are hoping to reopen the branches as soon as possible, and anticipate this happening first thing in the morning."

Last year, about 28 Post Office branches closed across Dorset as part of a cost-cutting plan to shut 2,500 branches nationwide.

Derek Clash, secretary of the Bournemouth and Dorset branch of the Communication Workers Union, said: "Although we don't represent the staff at these offices, this shows that crown post offices should not be franchised."