Dozens of sub-postmasters in Oxfordshire are wondering if their businesses have a future after the Government said today it would go ahead with a wave of cost-cutting closures.

Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said 2,500 of the country's 14,000 post offices would close.

He was immediately condemned for dealing a "devastating blow" to the lives of millions of pensioners.

Mr Darling's announcement confirmed proposals announced last December for 2,500 branches - 18 per cent of the total - to shut.

In Oxfordshire, that would mean about 30 of the 180 post offices in the county could go.

But a list of which will have to close has not been issued. The changes will come into effect over an 18-month period from this summer.

In the past six years, 21 post offices in Oxfordshire have closed. The most recent casualty was in Courtland Road, Rose Hill, Oxford, in March.

Christine Donnelly, the secretary of the Oxford and District branch of the National Federation of Sub Postmasters, who runs Great Milton Post Office, said: "I wish the Government would just get on with it, because I hate this feeling of uncertainty.

"More rural post offices are likely to close than urban ones, but there could be closures in urban areas as well.

"People running their businesses have been left in limbo, because they don't know if they're going to have to close or not.

"Do you give your post office a lick of paint or do you leave it? There's nothing worse for a business than being in limbo."

Jean Davies, a spokesman for Oxford Pensioners' Action Group, said pensioners would be hit hardest by the closures. She added: "Unlike young people, who text and send emails, pensioners still write letters and need to use post offices.

"I live within walking distance of St Aldate's post office but I can never get in there - the queue is usually out of the door. Since they closed so many branches, staff are overloaded."

Mr Darling said: "I believe if we reduce the network by about 2,500 branches, backed by £1.5bn investment from Government, we can have a sustainable network."

Mr Darling said if post offices were run purely on commercial grounds there would only be about 4,000 left, which "would make no sense at all".

He added that four million fewer people were using post offices than two years ago, while losses had doubled to £4m a week.

The Government aid package, including an annual subsidy of £150m, aims to prevent further closures and help attract new business.

Richard Hall, a spokesman for the Post Office, said it was not yet known when changes in Oxfordshire would be announced. He added that for each closure announcement in different parts of the country there would be a six-week consultation period.

On Monday, campaigners fighting to prevent the closure of Oxfordshire post offices delivered a petition signed by more than 1,000 people to 10 Downing Street.