A mainly elderly crowd of over 90 people ensured their voices were heard at Cowdenhill Community Centre on Monday, the official consultation's last day.

Feeling unsafe using the Post Office in the town centre, inconvenience for disabled customers, and the risk of trips in travelling further were all arguments strongly made.

Linlithgow and Falkirk East MP Michael Connarty, who arranged and chaired the meeting, said: "For all parties this is a service we cannot see a reason for withdrawing."

A decision will be made around October 21.

Recording the public's views were Craig Tuthill, regional development manager for Post Office Ltd and Julie Morrison, Royal Mail Group's head of external relations.

In 2006 the government decided 2500 UK post offices needed to close, to reduce financial losses. Ms Morrison said: "All Post Offices due to close are because they are loss-making, and not enough people are using them."

Mr Tuthill said: "Every Post Office we close will make a saving to the overall network."

He added: ''We're trying to hang on to our business and make it sustainable in the future."

The East Pier Street and Newtown counters lie less than a mile away from Grangepans. But closure opponents say this fails to take into account the longer journeys that customers who live in the Muirhouses and up Grahamsdyke Road would face.

Mr Tuthill was loudly heckled when he claimed it took just over two minutes to get served at the town centre branch.

A sea of hands showed locals felt they had to wait over five minutes to get to the top of the queue.

Around 200 responses were submitted to a constituents' survey carried out by Mr Connarty and his MSP colleague Cathy Peattie plus local councillor Adrian Mahoney, who was also at the meeting.

These have been forwarded to the decision-makers along with a submission in favour of retaining Grangepans.

Initial results showed half of participants used the Post Office weekly and 41 per cent on a daily basis.

The majority, 57 per cent, were aged over 60 and 13 per cent were disabled.

Mr Connarty said very small savings made by the Post Office by closing Grangepans would contrast with "massive disruption" to the lives of those it served.

Of the consultation, he said: "I hope it's not just being seen as a tick list, but a real re-assessment.

"I do think the strength is with us as a community."

Councillor John Constable, at the meeting with councillor Harry Constable, said the population around Grange-pans would further rocket due to planned housing developments. He added that the Grangepans area was a distinct community, with the Post Office at its heart.

The viability of the neighbouring shops would be threatened if it shut.

SNP MSP for Central Scotland, Jamie Hepburn, also conducted a local survey to pass on to Post Office bosses.

Only one of the 181 respondents was not against closure.

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