More than 1,000 concerned residents have signed a petition demanding that Dartford Crown Post Office not be moved into WH Smith.

A protest, organised by Dartford Labour and the Communications Workers Union which represents post office workers, was held in Dartford High Street over the move with the group labelling it "privatisation by stealth."

The protest was organised in response to the announcement that 74 crown post offices across the UK will be franchised to WH Smith. Those opposed to the move believe this deal will lead to jobs being lost and also the "privatisation" of Dartford's community hub.

Councillor Jonathan Hawkes described the franchise deal as an "unacceptable plan" and said that "everyone we spoke to thinks this a bad idea."

"The Conservative government should not be allowing this to happen. In other towns we’ve seen that franchising has been the first step toward Post Offices disappearing from high streets completely.

"Dartford deserves better than that and we won’t accept it’s a done deal. That’s why we stand shoulder to shoulder with post office customers, post office staff and the CWU to fight these plans."

A Post Office spokeswoman said: "We are not immune to the challenges facing retailers in local high streets, and we must adapt to changing customer needs by making our services more accessible to customers, for instance through longer opening hours, such as Sunday opening.

"Our proposal to franchise Dartford branch to WH Smith will enable us to ensure that the branch remains in the centre of Dartford, not just for today’s customers but tomorrow’s too."

She said 98 per cent of the post office network is run in this way, on an agency or franchise basis, and added: "It’s a model that works through delivering the benefits of shared overheads and footfall.”

WH Smith said it was unable to comment as this is now "subject to public consultation."