Post Office bosses came face-to-face with more than 150 angry customers last night in a bid to justify their sweeping closure plans.

Moves to shut five of Eastbourne's 19 post offices have provoked uproar and fears that even more could be for the chop.

The town hall meeting heard how pensioners, mothers and businesses would be hit hard by the cost-cutting exercise.

Thousands of people have objected with one petition carrying more than 11,000 signatures.

And last night, some felt Post Office Ltd had already made its decision and that public consultation, which ended yesterday, was merely a formality, something which area manager Andy Bayfield denied.

A panel gave speeches, including Tory MP Nigel Waterson, Lib Dem council leader Beryl Healy and representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and industry watchdog Postwatch.

Coun Healy said closing Upperton Road would have a major effect on council business and she said the recent closure of Whitley Road had resulted in huge inconvenience for many people.

She said: "Please listen to what the people are saying here tonight and then make your decision. I get the feeling that a decision has already been made."

As well as Whitley Road, managers plan to close branches in Avard Crescent, Church Street and Compton Street along with one of the town's busiest depots in Upperton Road.

Mr Bayfield was barracked as he said closing Upperton Road would not cause "undue difficulty" for customers.

He said a lot of work had been invested in deciding which branches should close and insisted their closure plans were the right ones for Eastbourne.

"We have put together a plan that will ensure Eastbourne will have the right number of post offices doing the right amount of work.

"We have put a lot of work into this. These plans haven't been put together overnight. We believe these plans are correct for Eastbourne and for the postmasters who will operate the units.

"As for Upperton Road, it is costing us about £65,000 a year. We believe that we can migrate the work that it does to the Terminus Road branch without causing undue difficulty.

"I can't say it won't be an inconvenience. But if we don't change these will not be the only post offices at risk, I can assure you. Many more would close."

However, some felt Terminus Road would not be able to cope with a doubling of trade. One said queues would stretch outside because of a shortage of counters.

Andrew Stuart, chairman of the Eastbourne and Wealden branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, said that Terminus Road will be one of the most expensive areas under plans to introduce parking charges.

And David Cooper, of the Eastbourne and District Chamber of Commerce, said many people would desert Post Office Ltd altogether if they closed Upperton Road.

Lib Dem parliamentary spokesman Stephen Lloyd said 70 per cent of town centre shops surveyed said closing the Upperton Road branch would damage their business long-term.

Mr Lloyd said: "I cannot believe the Post Office management would be so arrogant as to ignore the results of this survey.

"It is crystal clear to me and many other Eastbourne residents that the Upperton Road post office closure could damage the viability of Eastbourne town centre.

"It is absolutely vital Post Office management rescind their decision to close what is after all the main Eastbourne post office."

Deputy borough council Tory opposition leader, Coun Bob Lacey, made an impassioned speech, saying: "The worry about this loss is so great that I don't think the Post Office realise what they have unleashed."

Mr Bayfield ended by saying no decision had yet been made and agreed to take back the comments raised to the consultation team.

He said: "We've put this case forward because we think we can manage it in the best interests of the customers and postmasters."

The Post Office says that closing about 3,000 of its 9,000 urban network branches was vital to ensure the struggling company, which is losing about £750,000 a day, stayed viable.

The boom in email and text messaging has hit stamp sales heavily, while a Government shake-up will result in the firm losing up to 40 per cent of its benefit agency work.

And chiefs said that without having managed closures overseen properly by them, more branches would be threatened and it would be "chaotic" for customers.