Santander has announced 75 UK branches will be closing down - including three in south Essex.

The high street bank has released a full list of branches affected by the closures.

The branches in The Broadway, Leigh, Wickford High Street and Grays High Street are on the list, with the one in Wickford due to close on Thursday, July 8. 

The Grays branch will be shutting on Thursday, July 29 and the building in Leigh on Thursday, August 5.

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the movement towards online banking following three national lockdowns and people eager to limit personal contact.

In March, the banking firm announced plans to close 111 stores by the end of August and now a further seventy-five branches will be added to the list as the firm's closure programme gathers pace.

Adam Bishop, head of of branches at Santander said: "Branch usage by customers has fallen considerably over recent years so we have made the difficult decision to consolidate our presence in areas where we have multiple branches relatively close together.

"We will provide every support to customers of closing branches to find alternative ways to bank with us that best suit their individual needs.

"We are also working alongside our unions to support colleagues through these changes and to find alternative roles for those impacted wherever possible."

Santander is set to carry out a "programme of activities" to support customers of closing branches to find other ways to bank.

This includes help to find alternative branches and access digital, telephone and Post Office banking services.

The bank will also hold a series of online events over the coming months to explain alternative ways of banking.