BURY'S elderly and sick will be the hardest hit by a shock decision to axe the town's Social Security office, a union spokesman has warned.

Humphrey House will close its doors within the next 12-18 months, along with 36 other social security offices and job centres nationwide.

The 170 Bury-based staff face being transferred to a new location.

Staff at the Angouleme Way office were told the news at a meeting on Thursday. Humphrey House is among five centres in the north west earmarked for closure.

The Government says the shutdowns are necessary to achieve the latest phase of its "efficiency improvements".

But the announcement has drawn severe criticism from the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCSU) whose members have already held a series of strikes.

A union spokesman for Bury said: "Staff here are demoralised by the news. We may have been naive, but we honestly didn't believe our office would close.

"It's been here since 1975 and as far as we're concerned it's been shut because it's too expensive to run. There was no consultation whatsoever."

The spokesman said processing of benefit claims, normally handled at Bury, would ultimately transfer to Bolton. Bury's Job Centre in Silver Street will remain open.

Defending the move, Department of Works and Pensions Secretary of State Alan Johnson stated the Government's continuing modernisation programme "will lead to more efficient and effective services for our customers and release resources to the front line".

But the PCSU spokesman claimed Bury's elderly, sick and carers will lose out.

"It means these people will not be coming to our office and will have no point of contact any more and will probably have to call into Bury Job Centre. The Job Centre is only interested in dealing with people of working age looking for a job -- not the elderly, sick and their carers."

At this stage, the union is unaware of what alternative arrangements will be made for people using the office for counter benefit payments.

Meanwhile, the PCSU will ballot its 290,000 members for a one-day strike on November 5 in protest at the Government's cuts.