The decision to close a major bank in Brampton has been branded "short-sighted" and an inconvenience.

Brampton and Area Labour Party has launched a petition in response to the news that Barclays will soon be closing its branch in the town.

The banking giant wrote to customers to tell them it would be closing its doors for the final time on May 25.

It is also due to close its Appleby Branch on May 18.

The closure will leave the town without a bank, with only the Cumberland Building Society, Furness Building Society and Post Office offering financial services.

Labour's petition to save the bank - signed by more than 250 people - has been set up on change.org. The party said closing the bank will inconvenience hundreds of people and businesses in the town.

It also said the town is being deserted at a time when it should be being invested in.

"It seems short sighted of Barclays to be deserting Brampton at a time when it should be seeing the town as a growth area," said chair Maggie Robinson, who has also written to the chief executive of Barclays this week.

"Brampton will soon have hundreds more residents when new housing is built by Story Homes and the airport development will no doubt make Brampton busier still.

"The Labour Party has been campaigning against bank branch closures nationally and we don't believe that a branch should be closed just to protect a bank's huge profit margins.

"There should be a proper assessment of the impact on Brampton. That's why we have launched a petition.

"Hundreds of people and businesses use Barclays Bank in Brampton every week and it is obviously going to have a big impact on our high street if people have to go into Carlisle to do their banking.

David Moorat, chairman of Brampton parish council, said it was bad news but "not surprising".

"There will be adverse impact for those around Brampton having already lost HSBC," he told The Cumberland News .

"It will be difficult for those who do not want to or are unable to use internet banking.

"Many people still prefer to dealing with real people behind the counter and do not trust internet banking."

While several of the town's businesses will also feel the effects of losing the local branch - where they would deposit their cash takings - Mr Moorat think it may be a business opportunity for other financial services outlets in the town.

Regarding the petition, he said: "I am convinced that any petition is unlikely to change the Barclays' decision to close the Brampton branch so my view would be to encourage customers to transfer their accounts to the Cumberland Building Society in order to support the last remaining bank in Brampton to keep businesses local and sustainable."

Barclays closed its Alston branch - the only remaining bank in the town - in 2015. The closure came as a blow to the community which lost its HSBC bank just six months earlier.

It said it does not take the decision to close any branch lightly.

Only 81 customers use the Brampton branch exclusively for their banking - more than half of its customers use neighbouring branches - while 104 people exclusively use the one in Appleby.

Kay Eccles, community banking director for Barclays in Cumbria, said: "The way customers undertake their banking is changing as people increasingly use online, telephone and mobile devices.

"At Barclays in Brampton and Appleby, our records show a low and falling level of transactions at the branches in recent years, which is why we have taken the difficult decision to close them.

"We hope the availability of our nearest branches in Carlisle and Kirkby Stephen, plus access to services at the local Post Offices, along with our range of digital channels will help to ease the transition for our customers.”

Barclays, which closed its Longtown branch in October last year, said staff will be on hand to assist customers with alternative banking options and any concerns.

Customers are able to undertake everyday transactions at the Post Office.

There will be no job losses as a result of the closure, with staff deployed to other nearby branches.

To sign the petition visit http://bit.ly/2BOyu3Y