NSPCC is to close eight service centres across the UK as part of a strategic review, leaving it with 40 service centres and 11 regional offices by 2016.

The south-west of England has been particularly affected. Centres in Truro, Taunton, Dorchester and Exeter will all close, with the area to be catered for by centres in Swindon, Bristol and Plymouth.

Elsewhere, Hastings, Hereford, Shrewsbury, and Worcester will all close.

To soften the blow, the children’s charity is promising to strengthen and develop services such as ChildLine and the new ChildLine Schools Service.

A spokesman said: “These decisions do not reflect the quality of the service delivered by individual teams, but the fact that the NSPCC cannot be everywhere.

“Our aim is to ensure our funds are used to maximum effect, enabling us to have staff in locations where they can focus on helping as many children as possible.”

News of the closures comes shortly after it was revealed last week that 70 fundraising jobs have been made redundant.