Some 49 Lloyds Banking Group branches are to close - including one in Gloucestershire.

The Bishops Cleeve branch is amongst the branches to go. Further afield, branches in neighbouring Cricklade, Ledbury and Upton-upon-Severn will also close.

The branch closures will affect some 1,230 jobs but Lloyds is also creating 925 jobs and existing staff will be redeployed "wherever possible" the BBC reports.

Eight of the bank closures are part of the Halifax network.

In recent years, banks have been increasingly closing branches, especially in more rural areas, saying customers prefer online and telephone banking.

But the closures have hit some smaller businesses hard and caused an outcry in rural communities who see it as another nail in the coffin for local services.

Lloyds Banking Group employs around 900 at its centre in Barnwood.