A Leigh bank is set to close three days a week, leaving customers with a three-and-a-half-mile journey to the nearest branch.

TSB in London Road, formerly a Lloyds branch, has informed customers from July the bank will only open on Monday and Wednesday from 9am to 5pm.

The rest of the week, anyone needing TSB banking services will need to go to branches in Southend or Benfleet or use Santander and HSBC in Leigh Broadway, 1.5miles away.

It is the latest blow to customers, many of them elderly, who are not happy using internet services and face long journeys to dwindling bank branches.

It follows the closure of RBS in London Road, Southend and Barclays in Rochford town centre.

In a letter to customers, the bank said: “We know the way our customers do their everyday banking is changing. To make sure we meet the future needs of our customers and local communities, we’re looking at how we can make changes to invest in our branch and digital services.

“This includes refitting some branches, opening new ones and adjusting the hours of our quieter branches.”

The bank added: “Following a careful and full review of Leigh-on-Sea branch, we have used customer transaction information and local knowledge to identify when our customers use the branch the most.”