A campaign has been started to try to save an Oxford post office open since 1899.

The post office, based in Lloyds Pharmacy in Woodstock Road, will close when the chemist moves to a new base in Walton Street.

A lack of space in the new store means there is no room for a post office counter.

A Royal Mail spokesman said the closure could affect services for local residents and said it would be looking to address the problem.

Nigel Taylor, who owns nearby St Giles' News shop, has circulated a petition to try to save the post office.

More than 200 people have signed in three days.

Mr Taylor said: "It is a busy little post office that is well used by the local community, businesses and the colleges.

"It is a big blow for all of us and it will be missed by everyone. We launched the petition on Monday and the level of support has been fantastic.

"I guess we are hoping something can be done to save it and try to show there is a demand for it."

Mr Taylor said the St Giles' office offered the same level of service as the main one in St Aldate's.

He added: "People don't want to have to walk across to the other side of the city to get forms and documents."

Taylor's Delicatessen manager Joanna Ridgeway said: "We put the petition on the counter in the store and we've had a lot of people signing. It seems pretty clear the local community really want to save it by the amount of opposition there has been to the news.

"It is handy for the business to have a post office so close."

The post office is set to close sometime early next year, but the Royal Mail said it had not received any notification from Lloyds that the counter was to close, and as a condition of the franchise it would be required to serve a three-month notice period.

A spokesman added: "We would want to find a solution to continue providing a post office in the area."

Witney's main post office is due to reopen tomorrow after it closed today when a staff member had an allergic reaction to fumes from carpet cleaning solvents.