ONE of the UK’s leading high street banks to close its branch in Warminster on Friday (June 25).

The Barclays Bank branch at 32 Market Place will close its doors for the last time.

Town councillors in Warminster have condemned the closure, saying it will most affect elderly and vulnerable people who are still part of the cash economy.

In a letter to Barclays, the town council said: “The biggest impact will be on those who must travel to another town to use a Barclays branch.

“This will involve additional time and expense, whether it be the running costs of a car and car parking or the cost of public transport. It will obviously be less convenient for these people.

“Whilst many more people are using online banking, we suspect it is the elderly, vulnerable and low paid who are still part of the cash economy and this closure will adversely affect this group within our community.”

Barclays said its customers could still use nearby branches in Frome and Trowbridge.

Alternatively, they can use over-the-counter banking services at Post Offices in Warminster and at the Lakeside Garden Centre at Crockerton near Longbridge Deverill.

The banking group said the number of counter transactions at Warminster had one down over the past two years.

Barclays said: “We’ve identified that only 128 customers use this branch exclusively for their banking.

“Additionally, 84 per cent of our branch customers also use other ways to do their banking such as online and by telephone.

“Customers using other ways to do their banking has increased by 10 per cent since 2015 and in the past 12 months, 25 per cent of this branch's customers have been using nearby branches.”

The closure follows Barclays decision to close branches in Melksham, Royal Wootton Bassett and Westbury in 2018 and Malmesbury in 2019.