Enraged residents of Snodland who are facing losing the town’s only bank have demanded that representatives from Royal Bank of Scotland attend a public meeting to discuss the shock decision.

RBS announced that it would be closing the High Street branch of NatWest following a significant decrease in the number of physical transactions.

MP for Chatham and Aylesford, Tracey Crouch, has written to the banking giant with the support of residents requesting that a representative attend a public meeting which she will chair.

Miss Crouch said: “With over 1,400 homes built in the past 10 years and more growth plans on the horizon, including a high speed rail link into London which will welcome more commuters to the area, Snodland is a fast growing town whose expansion is planned to continue in the coming years.”

The town’s bank will shut its doors on January 6 meaning some residents of the 15,000-strong town will have to travel 2.2miles to the nearest branch in Larkfield.

The closure, which will result in four job losses, was labelled by Cllr Anne Maloney as “short-sighted”.

She said: “It is unacceptable for an area that is growing at this level to be left without a service like this. Many people who do not drive or are elderly will have difficulty getting to Larkfield, we already have people coming from that branch to the one in High Street as it is far more user-friendly. This decision is totally short-sighted.”

Residents of the town campaigned against a proposed reduction in opening hours last May.

The closure is just one of a number with Lenham, Marden and Coxheath all set to lose their banks.

A NatWest spokesman confirmed that no further closures are planned for Kent.

She said: “Over our whole branch network there has been a 30% drop in branch transactions since 2010 as people do their banking where and when it is convenient for them, whilst online and mobile transactions have grown by over 200%.”

RBS have confirmed that the cash machine in the town will remain in place and assured customers that some services can be accessed at branches of the Post Office.