AN OLD Town bank is closing after customer numbers dipped.

Barclays’ High Street branch will close its doors on Friday December 8. All staff will be moved to other branches.

More than two thirds of the branch’s customers regularly use other branches in the town, a Barclays spokesman said.

The branch was being closed due to a falling number of customers, he added.

According to the bank, just over a 1,000 people used the bank more than 12 times in the last year. The number of counter transactions fell by seven per cent from 2015/16 to 2016/17.

Staff at the bank urged people concerned about the move to contact them directly. The bank would be hosting “tea and teach” events for those interested in finding out more about online banking.

Mark Hatcliffe, community banking director for Barclays Bristol, Somerset and Wiltshire, said: “The way customers undertake their banking is changing as people increasingly use online, telephone and mobile devices.

“At Barclays Old Town, Swindon branch, customer usage has continued to decline and more than two thirds (67 per cent) of our branch customers now regularly use alternative branches, which is why we have taken the difficult decision to close it.

“We hope that the availability of our nearest Barclays branch at Barclays, Regent Street, Swindon just under a mile away or Barclays West Swindon branch 2.4 miles away.”

Barclays customers could also use the nearby post office to conduct transactions, he added.

Old Town residents have reacted to the news with disappointment.

Shelley Jell, who works on Wood Street, said: “It’ll be a shame. It’s been there years and years.”

Writing on Facebook, Pauline Grouby said: “Very disappointed. Thinking about changing bank [for first time] in 40 years.”

For some, the closure prompted questions about the building’s future. On social media, there was speculation that the block might be converted into flats.

Opticians and hearing experts The Outside Clinic, which owns the building and occupies offices above Barclays, said that no such plans had been made.

The Barclays closure would not affect the opticians firm, a spokesman for The Outside Clinic said.