ANOTHER bank is to close its Darwen branch, leaving the town centre with just four recognised high street banks.

The Co-operative Bank will pull out of the town in June, with bosses telling customers to do their banking five miles away in Blackburn.

The Railway Road branch follows HSBC, which closed its The Circus base three years ago.

People wanting to keep their account in Darwen are left with just Lloyds, Barclays, Natwest and Santander in the town, as well as the Jubilee Tower Credit Union.

Paul Denton, head of branch network at The Co-operative Bank, said the bank would soon be writing to customers to tell them about the closure.

He said: “This change is part of our business plan to turn the bank around by restructuring and modernising the bank into a simpler, more efficient business.

"The decision to close our branch in Darwen has not been taken lightly but is necessary as part of the changes we are seeking to build a sustainable business for the future.

“The nearest alternative branch in Blackburn is approximately five miles away and there is a Post Office branch within a mile where customers can undertake most day to day banking transactions, as well as others in the area.

“We are committed to maintaining the high levels of service that our personal and business customers have come to expect from us and are writing to affected customers giving them advance notice about these changes and the alternative options available to them.

“As we rebuild and reshape the bank we are focused on responding to the changes in the way customers are choosing to bank.

"While our branch network remains an integral part of our overall customer service offer, we are investing in our digital offering to provide customers with new, innovative ways to service their accounts as the trend for consumers to move their day to day transactions online accelerates.”

Darwen councillor Paul Browne, a customer of the branch, said: "I will be keeping my business in Darwen so I will be going to another bank.

"I have been with them since it was the Over Darwen Building Society, which was taken over by Britannia and then became the Co-operative Bank.

"I have been a member for 50 years so I am really disappointed they are shutting it down.

"They won't get people going to Blackburn, certainly not the older people who want to do their banking in Darwen."