ANOTHER bank is set to close its doors in Fordingbridge after a drop in the number of customers using the branch.

Lloyds Bank in Bridge Street is closing on March 9, which it says is due to the changing way customers use the bank.

A spokesman for Lloyds Bank said: “We have made the difficult decision to close our Fordingbridge branch due to the changing way our customers choose to bank with us, which has resulted in them using it less often.

“The majority of our customers also now regularly use alternative branches or use other ways to bank such as online and telephone banking to complete their banking needs. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause and have informed customers of their closest alternative branch, which is Ringwood.”

Lloyds Bank says about 66 per cent of customers with personal bank accounts in Fordingbridge use other branches and other ways to bank such as online and telephone banking with about 89 per cent of its personal customers already using other branches, such as Ringwood.

It also says the number of personal bank account customers using the branch has gone down in the past year by around 16 per cent and that it only has 35 regular weekly personal and business customers using the branch weekly.

Customers will have their accounts realigned to Ringwood and Lloyds Bank says “there will be no other impact to the way they manage their accounts”.

Lloyds says it intends to “try to redeploy everyone currently working at a closing branch to an alternative branch”.

Fordingbridge has already lost its Barclays bank branch in Salisbury Street, which closed in November of last year.

Town mayor Cllr Malcolm Connolly said: “It is very disappointing and very short-sighted but I do understand the business implications. All the modern generation bank online.

"We have made representations to each bank as they have closed but we have had the same letter back that’s said it is a business decision."