Newent's post office is set to close - leaving the town without any banking facilities.

Newent has been without a bank since 2017, when Barclays closed just a year after Lloyds, leaving local businesses and residents to use the post office as an alternative.

But before the end of the year, people in the town will lose that option too.

The Government's own criteria states that 99 per cent of the UK population should live within three miles of their nearest post office and 90 per cent should be within one mile of a post office.

The closure of the post office in Newent will mean the town is 3.6 miles from the nearest alternative branch.

Ann Birch, local resident and a former teacher at Newent Community School, said: "There are a lot of people in Newent who can't drive. They get to a certain age, and they move to Newent, so they can get their pension and do their banking.

"The nearest post office to Newent is 3.6 miles away. There are no buses, so how are people supposed to get to that now?

"A lot of people now are going back to cash to help with budgeting. Once it's gone from their pockets, they know they have to stop spending.

"At the moment there are three places in Newent to get cash - the post office and two ATMS, one at the Co-op and one outside the supermarket, which you have to pay for. Sometimes the one outside the Co-op runs out of money, so people are having to pay to take their cash out.

"I really hope somebody else will take the post office on. Newent is supposed to be getting 600 more houses, but we're losing facilities rather than gaining them."

Punchline has tried several times to contact the post office in Newent, but with no response.

A source in the town told Punchline the post office is due to close before Christmas.

Image credit: Google Maps 2016