Concern for Shropshire towns without any banks

The number of communities around the country without a single branch is thought to have increased to around 1,400 last year, and the pace at which closures come about has increased.

Big lenders have also abandoned their pledge to keep open branches which are the last banks in town, and more Shropshire towns now face the prospect of losing their only banking outlet.

The latest figures come from the Campaign for Community Banking, which is putting pressure on the government to help ensure that smaller communities still have access to a physical bank.

Since the last full database of towns' banking facilities was compiled in 2003, one village on the Shropshire border has lost its last lender, while three more now rely on just one remaining branch for all their business and domestic banking.

Leintwardine's final branch of HSBC shut its doors in 2010, while in the same area Craven Arms was left with only one outlet after HSBC withdrew in 2012, and Bishop's Castle relies solely on HSBC after Barclays withdrew in 2011.

Heading further north, Much Wenlock lost its HSBC branch in 2013 to leave it solely dependent on Barclays, while Church Stretton has two outlets – TSB and Barclays – after HSBC's exit in 2013, but the campaign group has warned that the departure of one outlet can be an indicator that others are set to quit the same town.

Nationally, 399 branches have closed already this year, and the total is now expected to eclipse the 479 that shut during 2014.

HSBC's announcement this week that it is to cut back its estate – potentially hitting around 100 outlets in the UK – could place further pressure on local communities.

Campaign director Derek Finch said: "All those three or four towns in Shropshire – and especially the first three – must now be at high risk. Don't be put off by the fact that their next branch is six, seven or eight miles away, as we have seen some that are over 10 miles away."

Ray Hickinbottom, chairman of the Shropshire branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, said closures would impact the small and medium-sized enterprises that make up the vast bulk of businesses in Shropshire, as well as individuals.