A MARKET town has been rendered a cash-free zone after the only outside cash machine was out of order for ten days – leaving residents and visitors without means of accessing money after working hours.

Since the closure of the HSBC branch in Hawes, Wensleydale, in October, the only bank has been Barclays, leaving the community reliant on the bank that was open just three days a week, and on the only 24/7 outdoor cash machine.

The break-down of the machine last week meant people had to withdraw money from either a local shop or from the town’s community Post Office, resulting in an increase of around 300 people per day requesting to take cash out.

Upper Dales councillor John Blackie, who is also volunteer chairman of the Post Office within the Upper Wensleydale Community Partnership, is now calling for a new cash point to be installed in the town.

He said: “There has been a new sight in Hawes of local people and visitors pacing up and down the street, unable to get cash out in order to buy food from the Fish and Chip shop, which does not accept card payments – just like several other traders in the town.

“It was always the major concern of mine that the loss of the HSBC Bank in Hawes, which was closed in October, would leave our remote community reliant on a single cash machine in a Barclays Bank open just three days a week.

“The Post Office has been able to take on many banking functions after the HSBC bank closed. This has led to a large increase in footfall at the Community Office but nothing like on the level we experienced while the Barclays cash machine was out of order.”

Cllr Blackie said during the ten days of the cash machine being broken, there were more than 300 people a day queuing for cash; and on Saturday during the three and half hours it was open, more than 200 people took out cash.

He is now keen to have a further cash point installed in the town, and hopes HSBC can provide it free of charge.

He said: “In Masham there is a stand-alone 24/7 cash machine, which was supplied for free by HSBC when it closed its branch there. HSBC also funds the re-stocking of the machine with cash, but this offer was never made to Hawes when HSBC left.

“I am now pressing HSBC hard to make the same offer for Hawes, and asking it to be fair to a deeply rural community who has loyally provided custom to the bank over many years.”

A HSBC spokesman said: "When a branch closes we look at a number of factors including the provision of an ATM in the area with a third party supplier as we do not provide standalone ATMs.

"While the initial view from the third party was that they would not be able to provide an ATM in Hawes, we will ask them to take another look."