BARCLAYS bank in Fore Street, Wellington, shut its doors for the final time at noon on Friday.

Member of staff Mandy Smith, who started work at the bank in June 1979, the day after she left school, said: “We shall miss our customers and would like to thank them for their kind wishes and presents.”

Mandy is going to work in Barclays’ Taunton branch, along with fellow staff Emma Smith, who started work in Wellington in 1987, and Lisa Burn. Rachel Scott is going to work in Bridgwater.

Barclays is the third major bank in Wellington to close in the space of 14 months. HSBC shut in February last year and NatWest followed in October, leaving Lloyds as the town’s solitary bank.

All of the banks have blamed branch closures on the increase in online banking resulting in customers visiting branches less frequently.

Lloyds in Wellington says it has picked up customers following the closure of the other town banks.

Barclays customers can carry out routine transactions at the Post Office at 20 High Street, Wellington. The nearest Barclays branch is at 46 North Street, Taunton.