I WAS very disappointed by the recent announcement that the Spennymoor branch of Barclays Bank is to close on June 1 of this year (Echo, Feb 19).

Disappointed but not surprised.

This will leave Spennymoor with just one high street bank – Lloyds.

This is a process that has been happening with alarming regularity across County Durham. Shildon has no banks, Wolsingham will lose its last bank in July, Ferryhill and Newton Aycliffe have lost banks.

The creation of the new credit union in Spennymoor will be able to take some of the strain as will the local post office, but they can only do so much.

For many people online banking is not an option especially for older people who may not know how to use the internet or are just not comfortable with it.

Also what happens if something goes wrong with an ATM machine when the nearest branch may be many miles away?

At the end of the day a bank is not just a business it is a community resource.

It is about time that Durham County Council and our local MPs started to put pressure on the big banks to stop asset stripping our town centres and hamstringing our communities.

Martin Jones, Spennymoor