BARCLAYS bank customers have been ‘angered’ by news that the last branch in the district in Newton Abbot will close its doors this week.

Customers were informed via post last week that the Newton branch would close its doors at midnight on Wednesday, November 24.

Following the Teignmouth branch closure in 2018, the loss of the Newton branch will mean customers of the Barclays will be left with no options for physical banking in the district.

Customers wanting to bank in-person will now have to travel to Torbay, Exeter or Exmouth.

A Barclays spokesperson said: ‘The decision to close a branch is never an easy one.

‘However, customers are increasingly using alternatives to branches to do their banking. As a result, we are seeing a sustained fall in branch visits across the UK.

‘This is reflected at the Newton Abbot branch where over eight out of ten (85 per cent) of our customers at the branch are also using different ways to bank.’

The spokesman added: ‘We will work with our customers and provide alternative options to ensure they can continue to manage their money and receive financial expertise when required.’

On hearing the news reader Chris Dodd contacted the MDA to say: ‘My wife banks there and this is disgusting, they seem to be closing banks everywhere.

‘They are pushing people to move to online banking but not everyone, particularly their older customers, want to do this.

‘It would be great if someone got up a petition about this for all the people of Newton Abbot to sign to protest at this decision.’

‘An extraordinary snub’, was how town centre development manager, Sally Henley, reacted to the news.

She said: ‘The decision to close the Newton Abbot branch, which is the only one in Teignbridge, and to leave two branches side by side in Torbay, makes no sense whatsoever.

‘When we know the rate at which new homes are being built in and around our town and the size of even the existing catchment area, it is hard to understand the reasoning behind their decision.

This is an extraordinary snub to Barclays customers, who I suggest might be considering transferring their funds to one of the banks which maintains a bricks and mortar presence in Newton Abbot.’