PENSIONERS in Southampton have been left baffled by the mysterious closure of their post office.

Elderly people turning up to collect their weekly pensions from the post office in Shirley Precinct this week were startled to discover it had suddenly shut down.

Amid the confusion, they realised that the building had closed its doors on Tuesday afternoon last week - eight days ago - and remained shut ever since.

A note in the window reads: "Post office closed until further notice."

But there is no mention of a reopening and no explanation.

Post Office bosses have put the closure down to a "last-minute glitch" in the changeover from one sub-postmaster to the next.

"Originally there was to be no gap in the switch but due to a last-minute glitch the new subbie did not take over," said a spokesman.

"We have every intention of reopening this post office as soon as is humanly possible."

But ward councillor Terry Matthews says the truth may lie in complicated legal wrangling over the lease of the property.

"All the shops round here are going to be updated and the housing office, next to the post office, is moving - so I think maybe it's not so much a glitch but something more to do with the lease.

"I've just got a horrible feeling about it - about six shops have closed in the precinct in the past few months and I'm not sure why."

Southampton City Council owns the freehold to the properties, while the shop owners lease them, added Mr Matthews.

The Lib Dem councillor also expressed concern for scores of pensioners who use the post office daily.

"I do think it's terrible it was closed so suddenly without telling anyone," he said. "There are a lot of elderly people living there and even to go to the next nearest post office is a long way."

Bosses behind the ambitious multimillion-pound project to rejuvenate Shirley's precinct have long promised that the post office will stay, though may undergo refurbishment.