NORTH SHROPSHIRE'S new MP Helen Morgan has joined the fight to keep Whitchurch's driving test centre open with an angry letter to the Driver, Vehicle and Standards Agency (DVSA).

Mrs Morgan confirmed on Friday that she had written to Loveday Ryder, the DVSA chief executive, as well as transport under-secretary Baroness Charlotte Vere to explain why it would be devastating for driving instructors and learner drivers in the area.

Under the plans put forward by the DVSA, students from Whitchurch and the surrounding areas will be required to take their tests in Crewe and Shrewsbury as the nearest test centre.

In her letter to the DVSA Mrs Morgan slammed the decision.

She said: "The decision to close the centre in Whitchurch is outrageous and should be overturned by the DVSA.

"Residents in our area do not need more local services being taken away from them.

"I am receiving a flood of emails from my constituents who are rightfully angry about this closure, as the latest in a series of cuts to services in Shropshire."

She added the rural nature of north Shropshire and the lack of public transport meant being able to drive is a necessity and students were going to be put at a disadvantage by taking their tests along routes they did not know.

"North Shropshire is a rural community and the centre in Whitchurch serves not only residents of the town, but a large population from the wider area," Mrs Morgan said.

"Those, primarily young people, will be required to drive significant distances to access a test at their own cost if the centre is closed.

"There is a risk that they will be disadvantaged by taking their test in an unfamiliar town."

The closure of the Whitchurch's test centre has come when there is a backlog of people waiting to take their test across the UK.

Local driving instructors fear students, who would have taken their test at Whitchurch, will be caught in backlogs at Crewe and Shrewsbury, a fear which Mrs Morgan raised.

"You will know of the serious backlog of those waiting for tests in both North Shropshire and across the country," Ms Morgan added.

"This backlog causes particular problems in areas such as mine, where because of a lack of public transport infrastructure, there is a desperate need to drive.

"The Minister needs to work with us to reverse this ill-judged decision from the DVSA, Whitchurch Test Centre should stay open for residents across north Shropshire."

Her predecessor, former Tory MP, Owen Paterson, had fought to keep the test centre open.