UNION representatives are calling on people in Northwich to get behind a campaign to keep the town’s revenue and customs office open.

The branch on Chester Way was earmarked for closure on June 11, along with those at Chester, Crewe and Macclesfield, meaning there would be no HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) offices in the whole of Cheshire.

Helen Stockton, branch secretary for the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), said: “They’re planning to close them all within the next couple of years, so there will be no HMRC presence in Cheshire. It’s a cost-cutting exercise, it’s happening all over the country.”

Should the Northwich office close, employees could be relocated in Manchester or Liverpool.

Weaver Vale MP Mike Hall is backing the union’s cause, and has written to Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling to voice his concerns.

Northwich, which has 20-30 workers, is the smallest office in the Cheshire “cluster”, but Mrs Stockton said that does not mean it is under any greater risk than the others in the county.

“We’re fighting to keep all the offices open, and we feel there’s as much need for an office in Northwich as there is anywhere else,” she said.

“But we need the support of local people, the people who use the office. We need as many people as possible to sign our petition.”