A SOUTH Lakes bank will now only open four days a week - sparking concerns it is on its way out.

Lloyds Banking Group has decided to reduce the opening hours of its branch in Ulverston.

The town could once again be facing another blow to local banking, just one month after HSBC announced its Ulverston branch was to close.

The past 18 months have seen bank closures hit towns and villages across Cumbria.

Windermere, Grange and Seascale have all seen local banks close as some of the high street's biggest banks downsize their operations.

HSBC and NatWest have drastically reduced their presence in the area, with Lloyds cutting 200 local branches across the country.

This is in spite of Lloyds recording profits of £2.5bn in the first six months of this year.

Mayor of Ulverston, Councillor Mark Wilson, commented on the change of hours at the branch.

He said: "Further closure of hours will be regrettable. It looks more and more likely that we will all have to bank online.

"With that in mind, I am hoping to organise courses in the Ulverston library to teach people using a tablet is much less hassle."

Speaking about the reduction in hours in Ulverston, a Lloyds spokesman said: "From September 12 the Ulverston branch will not open on Wednesdays. We are reducing the opening hours at this branch because of the changing way that customers choose to bank with us, which has resulted in customers using it less often.

"Wednesday is the quietest day at the Ulverston branch. We have no current plans to make any further changes, however we will continue to monitor and follow our customers in terms of how, when and where they decide to bank with us."

A spokesman from Lloyds could not confirm the future safety of the bank, however they did make assurances the changes were made in the best interests of their customers.

A spokesman said: "The decision to reduce the opening hours of our Ulverston branch was not taken lightly, or without due consideration to the local area and impact to our customers. We utilised the knowledge of our local directors, who work closely with our banking managers and colleagues, to understand the operation of the branch before the new hours were confirmed.

"Customer behaviours and transactional volumes were used to guide decisions, and we ensured that we maintained presence on the busiest days, at the times most suited to our customers."

The massive shift towards online banking, and use of smartphone and tablet apps, have been seen as the future within the industry.

However, the pace at which new technology is being rolled out runs the risk of leaving older people behind.

In 2015, Cumbria County Council estimated that by 2020, 25 per cent of the population in Cumbria will be over 65.

Earlier this year, charity Age UK called for banks to be more sensitive in their approach to catering for older people.