Thousands of people will have to travel miles to get to their nearest bank after a swathe of branch closures.

HSBC has provoked anger by announcing the closure of dozens of branches they claim are little-used, including ones in Worthing and Saltdean.

And villagers living in Patcham will be left without a bank when the Halifax shuts its doors in November.

Most high street chains are reviewing their network as they look to save money in the wake of the credit crunch.

Royal Bank of Scotland, which lost billions at the peak of the crash, is selling off 318 branches around the country.

The taxpayer-owned Lloyds Banking Group was ordered to sell a fifth of its retail network following its merger with Halifax Bank of Scotland Derek French, from the Campaign for Community Banking, said bank closures have accelerated in recent months.

And he warned that the closures could hit trade near the banks.