BOROUGH councillors were out on the streets of Christchurch at the weekend to launch a campaign to save the town's Job Centre from the threat of closure.

Under a government cost-cutting scheme first revealed by Christchurch MP Christopher Chope late last year, the Christchurch office could be amalgamated into a new centralised bureau in Bournemouth. But the council - which unanimously backed a motion before Christmas to save the Christchurch office, one of the first in the country to offer expanded JobCentre Plus service - says the loss of the local facility would be a blow to Christchurch claimants. Community services committee chairman and prosperity portfolio holder Cllr Sally Derham Wilkes said: "We are worried about unemployed people, some of the most vulnerable members of the community, having to go to the expense and inconvenience of travelling to Bournemouth at a time when their lives are already difficult."

The petition, canvassed by councillors in the town centre, Highcliffe, Purewell and Fairmile on Saturday, will be formally presented to the council and forwarded via Mr Chope to the Minister for Work and Pensions.

Meanwhile, the council has convened a public meeting at Grange School on Thursday June 21 at 7pm to protest against the proposed closure of the JobCentre.

Council leader Cllr Alan Griffiths said: "This seems to be a cost-cutting exercise in line with other recent government proposals to remove valuable services from local communities.

"It is completely unacceptable that people who are unemployed and looking for work should have the extra expense and inconvenience of travelling to Bournemouth to be able to access this important service, "It is much more than just an employment service as it also offer help and advice on benefits, including Jobseeker's Allowance and Income Support, as well as a number of self-help channels.

"The government has suggested that people can go online, but many unemployed people do not have the facility or knowledge to be able to do this easily.

"We intend to fight this all the way and would ask for the support of people in Christchurch to add as much weight as possible to our protest."