FINANCIAL services chain Cheltenham & Gloucester is to axe 31 branches, including five in Suffolk and Essex. Nationally, more than 300 staff will be affected by the closures, due to take effect in November, but C&G parent company Lloyds TSB said employees may be offered alternative roles elsewhere within the group.

FINANCIAL services chain Cheltenham & Gloucester is to axe 31 branches, including five in Suffolk and Essex.

Nationally, more than 300 staff will be affected by the closures, due to take effect in November, but C&G parent company Lloyds TSB said employees may be offered alternative roles elsewhere within the group.

Branches due to close include those in Sudbury, Braintree, Harlow, Basildon and Grays.

C&G said that customers would not be left without a local branch as, from October, they would be able to carry out transactions at the closest Lloyds TSB branch - in most cases located within a mile of the C&G branch due to close.

Jon Pain, managing director at C&G, said: “Closing branches is never a decision that we take lightly but, with more customers taking advantage of technology, the number of customers coming through the doors in these particular branches has fallen.

“By closing these branches where customer use has dropped, we can invest in the branches that customers do use.

“We will make every effort to ensure our customers are not disadvantaged by this move. There is generally a C&G branch in a neighbouring town and there is a Lloyds TSB branch within one mile where impacted customers will be able to transact on their C&G accounts.”