TSB has announced it is to close its branch in

Taunton

town centre.

The bank in North Street will shut on April 12 next year.

It is one of four TSB branches closing in Somerset over the coming months - Yeovil pulls down the shutters for the last time the same day as Taunton, with Bath on June 15 and Weston-super-Mare eight days later.

The move comes as more and more customers switch to digital banking.

A company spokesperson said the bank is closing 70 branches across the country due to "a significant decrease in branch use".

The branches earmarked for closure carry out around 32 per cent fewer transactions than the TSB national average, while there is a Post Office or free-to-use ATM within a mile of each of those branches.

The spokesperson added that the number of transactions per branch has been on the wane since January 2019 and there is "no prospect of branch transactions returning to pre-Covid levels".

Robin Bulloch, chief customer officer at TSB, which is owned by Spanish bank Sabadell, said: “Closing branches is an incredibly difficult decision to take, but we have to respond to the changes in the way people bank and provide the right mix of services for all our customers now and into the future.

“These changes allow us to maintain an extensive branch presence across the country.

"They are accompanied by a significant investment programme to upgrade branches to better suit customer needs.

"And, where it takes longer to get to the nearest branch, we will introduce more ‘pop-up’ services in communities.”

TSB, which had 600 branches in 2013, shed 164 last year, and will have just over 200 when the latest closures are completed.

The company says it will still boast the seventh largest branch network.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "TSB axing a quarter of its branches in 2022, on top of the numbers already closed, is a bitter blow for many communities.

"Unite remains very concerned by the drastic cuts in the numbers of branches across the whole banking sector, and we call on the government and the banking regulators to step in urgently to ensure cash remains readily available in all communities."