THE battle to prevent the Portman Building Society closing its Pewsey branch will continue until the door of the Market Place office is finally locked for the last time on Saturday, says campaign leader Caroline Dalrymple.

Hundreds of Portman account holders are bitterly disappointed that building society bosses have ignored their pleas to reconsider the closure or even to discuss it.

Although Saturday's closure will come as a huge blow, meaning savers will have to drive to Marlborough or Devizes to make transactions in future, campaigners plan to maintain their protest to the very end.

They plan to march on the Pewsey office with red balloons. "They are red for maximum embarrassment for chief executive Robert Sharpe," said Mrs Dalrymple.

In the final minutes before the closure at noon, up to 30 protesters plan to stage a sit-in.

They have already notified the branch staff, who will be redeployed at Marlborough or Devizes, about their final display of defiance, said Mrs Dalrymple.

The campaigning interior designer who has gathered more than 1,000 signatures on a petition calling on Portman to change its mind said: "We will be there to the very end to let Mr Sharpe know that we may have lost this particular battle but the fight goes on.

"We are going on with it and we intend to take a bus load from Pewsey to the annual general meeting of the Portman Building Society in Bournemouth next April. "We had considered calling for a special general meeting. We would have had no difficulty in getting the 500 signatures of members required under the society rules, but they would also have had to pay £25 each.

"The society could have called the meeting at any time and anywhere, in Great Yarmouth if it wanted, so we have decided to wait until the annual general meeting next April and to be there in force to let them know the strength of feeling in Pewsey."

Mrs Dalrymple said they intend to ask the annual meeting why there was no communication with members before the building society announced it was closing the Pewsey branch, and why chief executive Mr Sharpe was adamant there would be no consultation with members.

In a letter to the Pewsey Parish Council shortly after the closure date of August 3 was announced, Mr Sharpe said: "I am obviously sorry that the decision which we have made has not met with your approval, but would advise you that the decision will not be reversed."

Devizes MP Michael Ancram said he was disappointed he could not persuade Mr Sharpe to reconsider and hold local consultations.

In letters to constituents who wrote expressing concern at the Portman's attitude, Mr Ancram wrote: "I have to say that Mr Sharpe was adamant the decisions to close would not and could not be reversed."

Mrs Dalrymple said Portman savers in Pewsey were particularly sore that the society waited until days after its annual meeting in May to announce that it would be closing its branch in Pewsey, and its part-time branch in Ramsbury.

She said: "The Portman may think it has heard the last of Pewsey but we can assure them it has not. We were not given the opportunity to air this at this year's annual meeting but we now have nearly eight months in which to prepare what we are going to say at next year's meeting."