Judy Brown, 61, and her husband Jonathan Coe, of Rock-a-Nore Road, claim the shutting of the Old Town post office in George Street has breached disability rights laws.

Their High Court battle started on Wednesday and was due to finish today.

They are challenging the decision by the then business secretary John Hutton, who oversaw a scheme to close 2,500 branches nationwide.

James Goudie QC, representing Mrs Brown, said she was a disabled lady with a severely disabled mother who were reliant on their local post office, which closed last week.

He told Lord Justice Scott Baker and Mr Justice Aikens that the closure should be seen in context with the overall policy of shutting branches, leading to longer queues before being served.

He said: "Although none of us like to queue, most of us can stand for lengthy periods, but Mrs Brown's particular disability makes it difficult for her to stand for any length of time.

"This applies to other disabled people in the country and does create a very serious problem."

Mrs Brown claims that the Secretary of State for Business, now Peter Mandelson, was acting unlawfully by exempting the Post Office from laws requiring public bodies to promote equality for the disabled.

Her barrister said: "The Secretary of State should have carried out a disability impact assessment which he has not done.

"Harm may have occurred which is irreversible but it is by no means too late for an assessment to be made."

A new post office counter opened on September 1 at Premier Stores in George Street offering services such as pension and benefit withdrawals, electronic bill payments and sending mail.