Lloyds shuts in Hebden Bridge leaving 'no banks for 15 miles'

Image source, Google

Image caption, Lloyds will be operating a mobile banking service in the town twice a week

The closure of a high street branch of Lloyds means there are now no banks in a 15-mile (24km) stretch of a West Yorkshire valley.

Lloyds in Albert Street, Hebden Bridge, was the last bank in the town after Barclays closed in April.

As there are no longer any banks in nearby Elland and Sowerby Bridge, Calder Valley customers are without a bank from Todmorden to Brighouse.

Lloyds is operating a mobile service in Hebden Bridge on Mondays and Thursdays.

The Burnley Mobile Branch also visits nearby Settle and Barnoldswick.

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The number of high street banks closing has been called "alarming" by consumer group Which? - and figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show branches have dropped by a third since 2010.

For residents of Hebden Bridge, the nearest bank is now six miles (10km) away in Halifax - but the stretch between Todmorden to Brighouse has no open branches.

A journey to the Lloyds Bank at Halifax takes about 35 minutes by bus and 20 minutes by train.

Customer Sarah Hennessy Gray said: "I'm a self-employed person so people pay me in cash and I bring the money in and can bank it easily.

"It seems ludicrous that a busy town like Hebden Bridge has got no bank. This is a substantial part of the town, and it's going to go."

Lloyds Bank said: "We have made the difficult decision to close this branch because of the changing ways customers choose to bank with us - most are already using an alternative way to bank in addition to the branch."

It said research showed 23 customers used the branch regularly each week, and 234 visited on a monthly basis.