A BANK is to close its branch in a village on York's outskirts.

Barclays Bank says the branch in Main Street, Heslington, will shut permanently from noon on Friday May 22.

The bank's website said the number of transactions at the branch had gone down in the last 24 months and 83 per cent of its branch customers also used other ways to do their banking, such as online and by telephone.

It said customers using other ways to do their banking has increased by 24 per cent since 2012 and in the past 12 months, 59 per cent of the Heslington branch's customers had been using neighbouring branches.

"We've identified that only 57 customers use this branch exclusively for their banking," it said.

"Before we make the decision to close any branch, we think carefully about how it has

been used so far.

"We consider how many customers have been visiting, what kind of transactions they've been making, and all the other ways they've been choosing to bank with us. "We also take into consideration the availability of other branches in the wider community."

But a customer at the Heslington branch told The Press that the closure would cause him great inconvenience.

He said he called in to the branch to pay in cheques and for appointments and alternative branches would be considerably less inconvenient.