VILLAGERS have expressed their dismay after a major bank announced it is to close its Hartley Wintney branch.

NatWest will close its branch in High Street on March 10. Bank bosses have said they will look to redeploy its three members of staff working at the site.

In a letter, Lisa Williams, head of personal banking media desk, wrote: “We’ve advised staff, and we’re writing to our customers, to make them aware of the closure and the different ways they can still bank with us.

“If customers or local businesses are concerned about how this will impact their banking, they can go into the branch where staff will be happy to discuss the alternative ways to bank with us.”

But some villagers have already taken to social media sites to express their dismay at the decision.

A link to a version of this story was posted on to the Facebook page of Hartley Wintney Parish Council.

Commenting on the story, Adam Spurgeon wrote: “NatWest got my business because they had a branch in HW. Guess what my first move is. Bye bye NatWest.”

One Twitter user, called Hartley Wintney, wrote: “Now that @NatWest_ Help are closing our local branch in Hartley Wintney, I will be moving to another branch after over 20 years with them.”

NatWest said the cash machine at the bank will be left for customers to access their cash, while the Post Office, also in High Street, has agreed to allow NatWest customers to withdraw cash, check balances and make deposits free of charge.

The bank said transactions had dropped by 16 per cent since 2011, and that nationally it had seen an increase in online and mobile transactions of more than 200 per cent since 2010.