MARKET traders fear the closure of Brierley Hill High Street's last bank will "finish the town off".

The "difficult decision" to close Lloyds Bank was made due to customers using the branch less often - with figures released by the bank showing that counters were 24 per cent quieter than a year ago as the majority of customers were using "alternative ways to bank".

But for stallholders at Brierley Hill Market, the bank provides a lifeline for their businesses and they have launched a petition calling for the banking giant to halt the closure, earmarked for July 18.

Market supervisor Steven Bridgwater said: "There will be no banks in the town whatsoever. HSBC shut last year and Barclays went in March so Lloyds is the last one.

"Small businesses rely on the bank for change and things like that. I don't understand why it's closing, it's always busy."

Tracy Lowe, who runs a card store, added: "We need a bank in the High Street, I use it every trading day.

"A lot of us pay our rents in there and once it has gone there will be nowhere for us to get change or for customer's to get money.

"They say there's the post office but we haven't got time to stand in that queue when we're working."

She continued: "The town centre is pathetic. The council need to improve the High Street. A lot of shops have closed since Barclays went in March and our trade has dropped by half." Butcher Bruce Hodgkiss said he thought the bank closing would "finish the town off", adding: "My customers are totally disgusted.

"This town needs regenerating but all the council are bothered about is Merry Hill. Look at the town - it's a mess but they are just sitting pretty on their big, fat wages getting nothing done about it."

Colin Downs, aged 82, who runs a clothing stall, said he believed the older generation would suffer as a result of the closure.

He said: "People my age don't use online banking and they don't know how to use cash machines, they pop in the bank to get money out.

"There's a couple of machines down the road but my customers won't use them. They like to speak to someone when they are doing business."

Dudley South MP Mike Wood said he thought closing the Brierley Hill branch - which is one of 49 set to close across the country in a move that will see 305 jobs lost across Lloyds' branch network and some central functions - was a "bad decision".

He added: "It’s clearly bad for Lloyds Bank’s customers in Brierley Hill, but I think it’s also a mistake for the bank themselves and I have asked for an urgent meeting to discuss it with them."

Mr Wood said he would be looking at what more can be done to make sure that the full range of consumer and business banking services are available from Brierley Hill Post Office, so that people "can still get the services they need".

Despite the impending bank closure, Brierley Hill and Merry Hill remain "the borough’s strategic centre and therefore a priority" for Dudley Council, according to Alan Lunt, strategic director for place.

He said the extension of the Midland Metro to Brierley Hill, which is expected by 2023, and the recently created DY5 Enterprise Zone would bring "many opportunities" to the town by boosting regeneration, improving transport links and attracting thousands of new jobs.

He added: "In the meantime we’ve introduced two hours free parking to all council-run car parks to encourage shoppers to our key centres and are continuing to work with partners and businesses to look at ways of boosting footfall in the town.

“We will also be reviewing the Brierley Hill area action plan, which provides a framework for future regeneration.”