THE Devizes branch of Santander is a casualty of a decision by the Spanish-owned bank to slash its branch network by almost a fifth.

It will shut the Devizes office, which stands in a prominent position on the corner of St John's Street next to Barclays Bank, on May 16 as a total of 140 branches are shut.

The bank blamed the closures on changes in how customers are choosing to carry out their banking.

It said branch transactions have fallen 2 per cent in the last three years, while digital transactions have soared 99 per cent.

"We have had to take some very difficult decisions over our less visited branches," said Susan Allen, head of retail and business banking.

Until now Devizes has escaped the move by banks to close branches in smaller towns and still retains all of the big banks and several building societies.

The bank said its remaining network of 614 branches will be made up of larger branches offering improved community facilities and smaller branches using the latest technology to offer more convenience.

It plans to spend £55m over the next two years refurbishing 100 branches to fit its new branch vision.

"We continue to believe that branches have a vital role to play," said Ms Allen.

"We are confident that following these changes we will have the right branch network to serve our customers' changing needs, and we expect the size of our network to remain stable for the foreseeable future."

Santander said it has consulted trade unions on the closures and will seek to find alternative roles for the 1,270 workers hit.

Last year Devizes taxi drivers collected funds to put a bench outside Santander in memory of driver Ollie Fielding.