Santander in Dorchester will close its doors for good today as part of a nationwide raft of closures by the bank.

As reported, in January Santander announced it would close 140 branches across the UK as it reshapes its branch network.

The branch on South Street in Dorchester is closing, as well as a further three branches in east Dorset.

Santander said it was a “difficult decision” but it came after a change in ‘the way Dorchester customers are choosing to bank with them’.

The number of transactions carried out via Santander branches has fallen by 23 per cent over the past three years, according to the bank, while transactions via digital channels have grown by 99 per cent over the same period.

The nearest Santander branch is St Thomas Street in Weymouth.

At the time of the closure announcement, the bank said it would try to find alternative roles for the 1,270 employees who will be affected by the closures around the country. Five colleagues at the Dorchester branch will be impacted by the closure.

Susan Allen, head of retail and business banking, said: “The way our customers are choosing to bank with us has changed dramatically in recent years, with more and more customers using online and mobile channels. As a result, we have had to take some very difficult decisions over our less visited branches, and those where we have other branches in close proximity.

“We continue to believe that branches have a vital role to play and we will be refurbishing 100 of our branches over the next two years.”