THE Newton Abbot branch of Lloyds Bank has escaped the latest round of branch closures.

Lloyds Banking Group, which also owns Halifax, Bank of Scotland and TSB, has announced it will close a further 136 branches.

Teignmouth’s branch of the high street bank closed last summer.

But the Newton Abbot branch in Courtenay Street is not on the list of the latest to shut.

Lloyds has blamed the move on customers shifting away from banking in person to using online services, meaning there is less need for physical sites.

It made the announcement just weeks after taking the decision to allow its customers to access on-site services across any of the group’s branded branches.

Lloyds also revealed the planned closure of two major offices affecting more than 1,000 staff.