A BANK has apologised to customers who have been temporarily left without a cash machine.

Customers using the Barclays bank in Wolsingham were told in January that the branch would be closing its doors due to reduced footfall in the rural market town.

In a bid to help residents, Durham County Councillor for Weardale, John Shuttleworth, wrote to the bank and the bosses then agreed that the ATM cash machine would remain in place after the bank officially closed last week.

However, the ATM has also been out of service.

Lisa Corley, Deputy Community Banking Director for Northumberland and Durham said: “We can confirm that following the Wolsingham branch closure the ATM will not be available in the short term. We are however committed to leaving a permanent ATM on site, but as a new ATM needs to be installed there will be a programme of works to facilitate this. We are hopeful that the new ATM will be operational by the beginning of August and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause our customers.”