Lloyds Bank is set to pull its last remaining service from a Kent town, sparking anger among customers.

By June, the company’s mobile banking branch will no longer visit Tenterden, a move which has been described as “madness”.

Lloyds has been sending a van to the town twice a month after it closed its physical branch in the high street – which is now set to become a Domino’s.

However, it has now confirmed the last visit to Glebe Hall car park will be on Tuesday, May 21.

The bank has justified the move by saying that 76% of customers already use other ways of banking, such as their phones.

A spokesperson for Lloyds went on: “As many customers now choose to bank online or through their mobile app, visits to our mobile bank branch have fallen significantly over recent years.

“The local post office offers everyday banking, with cash also available at close by free-to-use ATMs, alongside other ways to bank such as online, phone and mobile banking services.

“In the run-up to the closure, mobile bank branch staff will be on-hand to offer support and guidance on the ways customers can bank with us. After the mobile bank stops visiting we will have a community banker visit the area, who will continue to offer face-to-face targeted support for as long as the community needs it.”

The move has prompted a backlash from residents and community figures.

One resident commented on Facebook: “It’s a crazy world we live in, I can never make it during the week as I am at work. It’s such a shame the bank shut in Tenterden.”

Another added: “Absolute madness. I’m glad I’m with the Nationwide Building Society as I have been for 40 years as they are keeping branches open.”

Lindsay Franklin, chief executive of Tenterden Social Hub, says the elderly and those with restricted mobility will struggle with the loss of the service.

‘We regularly run trips to help people get to the banks – and Lloyds was particularly useful in that respect...’

“If anything those people who use the service needed it more often – not to have it removed completely,” she explained.

“A lot of the people who use the social hub are far less confident with technology – if they can use it – and they much prefer that face-to-face interaction that you can’t get through mobile or online banking.

“When this service goes at the end of May, the nearest Lloyds service will be in Cranbrook – which is far more difficult for them than people who wouldn’t need the service to begin with. We regularly run trips to help people get to the banks – and Lloyds was particularly useful in that respect given that it was just down the road from us.”

The Mayor of Tenterden, Cllr Sue Ferguson, says the bank’s approach to mobile service had been flawed from the outset.

“Simply put, if you were not aware already of the service, there was very little out there in the way of letting you know that it was there; there was very little advertising, if any,” she said.

“It makes you wonder if they ever intended it to go on for very much longer. If they actually wanted to keep it used then they would have put more effort into making sure people knew about it.”