A GROUP representing scores of Huddersfield firms has called for a halt to post office closures.

The Federation of Small Businesses urged postal regulators to help keep the UK's 14,500 remaining post offices.

The FSB said they were vital to the survival of many small firms - and that further closures could be "disastrous" for small businesses in Yorkshire.

A survey by the FSB, which represents 15,000 small ventures in the region, said post offices were "vital" to the survival of 82% of those businesses.

FSB regional policy chairman Chris Glen said the closure of many high street bank branches left post offices as the only option for many small firms when it came to paying bills and invoicing customers.

Among its findings, the FSB survey showed that overall postage costs had risen for 43% of small firms in Yorkshire since Royal Mail introduced "pricing in proportion" this summer.

Some 44% of firms reported an increase in the time taken preparing the mail.

The survey found that 88% of firms send mail every day while 69% send invoiced by post and 41% use the post to order goods essential to running their business.

And 48% of firms said their mail arrived late since Royal Mail merged first and second posts into a single daily delivery in 2004.

Mr Glen said: "Small businesses are loyal post office users.

"The uncertainty surrounding the future of the network is detrimental to the small business community, including sub-postmasters.

"There seems to be political discord on this issue and the government urgently needs to take a strategic decision to give assurance to both post office users and sub-postmasters.

"It also needs to understand that small businesses are a growing, dynamic business sector whose demands from the postal market will not wane."