Minister calls for bank boycott

About 10,000 people live in and around Belford

By business correspondent Mary Gahan

Bank customers were advised to vote with their feet and leave if their banks continued shutting rural branches.

The comment by Environment Minister Chris Mullin came during a Parliamentary debate on bank closures.

Mr Mullin said he was disappointed that Barclays was planning so many closures in country towns and villages - 170 next month alone, leaving 60 communities without a bank.

He suggested customers should move to one of the banks which already had arrangements with post offices.

The debate, in the Westminster Hall parallel chamber, was opened by Liberal Democrat Alan Beith. One of the affected communities is Belford in Northumberland, in his Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency.

Barclays is closing unprofitable branches

Mr Beith said he had pleaded with Barclays to defer the closures until there had been some consultation.

He said the bank should also wait until the end of a pilot scheme in Cornwall to see if post offices could deliver its services.

Fear and loathing in Belford

More than 300 miles from Westminster, the people of Belford shared the MPs' anger

About 1,000 people live in the former market town, between Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Edinburgh, but it is at the heart of a rural community of about 10,000.

There is a hotel, two supermarkets, pubs and specialist shops and, for the moment, one bank.

Belford has several shops, but only one bank

"The bank is part of the lifeblood of the community," said Ken Hibbitt of the Belford Trade Association.

"Without the bank, the community will die - it is as simple as that."

He said Belford was a growth area, with money for the regeneration of an industrial estate and increased housing.

The anger is widespread. Borough councillor Audrey Atkin, who runs a craft shop in Belford, says the council is considering withdrawing its account from Barclays.

"This village is very focused and together about its services, and within 24 hours they had all rallied round, they were out in the shops, on the street, in the bank, furious about this," she said.

Few internet users

Ken Hibbitt thinks the post office could offer some services, but would not be able to meet the needs of business customers.

And while banks argue that more people want to use online banking, Mr Hibbitt said a survey showed that only 9% of Belford bank users had any dealings with the internet.

The options are to use branches in nearby towns. But while the winding roads are an attraction for holidaymakers, they do not make for speedy journeys.

The nearest bank would be in the seaside town of Seahouses, nine miles away but a long trip by car.

Customers might end up 15 miles away at Alnwick

"It's much easier for us, whether we go on the bus or whether we have cars, to travel to the two towns either side of us," said Audrey Atkin.

"It's a 30 mile round trip, and it's disgraceful to have to go that far to a bank.

"If people go out to Berwick or Alnwick to do their banking, they are also going to change their banks. No-one is going to be in favour of Barclays after this."

She added: "Also, they will go out there and do the rest of their shopping and that will undermine our shops in the village as well."

Back in Westminster, Mr Beith made the case for his constituents, saying banks such as Barclays had to realise how much damage they were doing to rural communities.

"With a 30% profit increase to £2.5bn they can hardly plead poverty," he said.

Barclays defends itself

"They really have got some room for manoeuvre and it should be used to help their own customers in rural communties."

Barclays told the BBC it was looking at the usage of its branches and the product sales they generated.

To ensure the network ran at a profit those which did not make money had to be closed. But the bank was planning to extend its cash machine coverage.

The MPs have had their say, and the villagers will no doubt continue to make their voices heard.

But unless Barclays decides otherwise, the Belford branch will close, as planned, on 7 April.