SHOCKED residents have launched a petition to save their local branch of Lloyds Bank, which is the last remaining bank to have a presence in Poole's Canford Cliffs.

Customer Graham Whitehall, who is one of the petition organisers, said: "The closure of this branch will mean that there are no banks represented in this shopping area, leaving a void for both customers and businesses which will potentially add to further decline within the local retail sector."

Mr Whitehall, a Canford Cliffs resident, is angry the decision to close was taking by bank bosses without prior consultation, then communicated by letter.

He added: "It states in the literature provided by Lloyds Bank that detailed impact analysis was completed but this was not achieved by communicating with the customers or local businesses they serve.

"It appears to have been carried out remotely and does not reflect the reality of the needs of their customers within the locale, particularly those that fall within the 55-75+ demographic."

Last October

Barclays Bank closed its Canford Cliffs branch

, blaming falling customer users as the reason for doing so.

Six months before that Natwest closed its Canford Cliffs branch, along with others at Winton, Westbourne, Boscombe, New Milton and Ferndown.

The petition opposing this latest bank closure is now circulating in Canford Cliffs.

Lloyds Bank says it will close the Canford Cliffs branch, Haven Road, on October 9.

In a letter to customers, they explain: "Our customer's needs are changing. Over 14 million people now bank with us through internet banking and almost 10 million use mobile banking.

"Branches will remain vital in meeting customers' needs but we must continually review our network to make sure we have branches in locations where customers need and use them the most.

"As a result , we've made the difficult decision to close this branch because of the changing way customers choose to bank with us."

The nearest branch of Lloyds is at Westbourne.

Figures produced by Lloyds Bank for customers shows 193 customers use the Canford Cliffs branch on a regularly monthly basis.

While counter services at Canford Cliffs are six per cent busier than a year ago, the branch is 84 per cent less busy compared to a 'typical Lloyds Bank branch'.