Residents have voiced their concerns ahead of the closure of the town's High Street Post Office.

WHSmith's and the Post Office inside will be closing on May 11 after the rent was put up.

The big name previously said it would not be viable to continue trading at the location, leaving the Post Office with no choice but to close.

Jake Kelly, 24, from Slough - who works at the Boots branch next to the post office - said: "People use it all the time. I can't imagine what the high street would be without it.

"I'd say it's the hub of Slough right now."

On the closure of the branch, he said: "It's going to have an impact."

Jane Hughes, 56, from Ealing, has run the food kiosk outside the post office for 33 years.

She told the Slough Observer: "It's going to be really bad for the older generation.

"A lot of them can't even walk very well, so where can they go?"

Many of Mrs Hughes' customers are post office users, and she is concerned about what the loss of the branch will do to her business.

She said: "Everything has a knock-on effect."

Alan Jones, 87, from Farnham Royal, now retired, used the post office last month as his driving license was up for renewal.

He said: “We found the post office very handy. I will be sad when it closes.”

Mr Jones said the post office is convenient and added: “We come down here once a week for the bank.”

Meanwhile Shiyad Jamail, 39, originally from India, thinks online shopping and courier services are to blame for the closure of WHSmith’s and the Post Office.

“We are not impacted by the closure. We don’t use the Post Office,” he added.

“Everyone is on email. It is the same everywhere.”

Emeka Okeke, 46, from Langley, works in recruitment and uses the post office regularly to send paperwork.

He said that the loss of the post office will mean it is harder for him to send post, particularly when wanting recorded delivery.

Mr Okeke said: “I frequent the Post Office once to twice a week.

“I haven’t got a clue where the closest one would be. “

While courier services are available, he said: “When you need next day delivery, that would be the problem. And vital documents you want recorded.”

Slough High Street stall holder, Richard Daley, 50, from Slough, said: “It will impact older people more.

They do not know how to use computers. I don’t know what they will do.”

A WHSmith spokesperson said: "It is no longer sustainable to continue to trade from this location and the decision has been taken to close the store as a result of the forthcoming lease expiry.  

"We are disappointed to be losing our presence in this location and we would like to thank all our customers for their support and for shopping with us."

A Post Office spokesperson said: “We know how important a Post Office is to a community and the vacancy is currently advertised on www.runapostoffice.co.uk and we would like to hear from retailers about this business opportunity.”