Just when you think 'Surely that will never happen' it does.

This week we heard the news that the very last bank in Helston is to shut come January, following a decision by Lloyds that there simply wasn't enough people using it.

That's a town of just over 11,000 people – not to mention the thousands more who live out on the Lizard, Mullion, Porthleven and the other outlying villages, for whom Helston is their main town – without a single bank to their name.

It is, by all accounts, an identical situation in Looe, and Redruth is also losing its branch of Lloyds in the same cull.

The reason is, apparently, falling numbers of customers visiting in person. Lloyds has said that branch transactions in Helston fell more than 57% between 2017 and 2022.

But let's look at this more closely. At least two of those five years will have been severely impacted by Covid restrictions and lockdowns, bringing down that average significantly.

Then we move on to opening hours. I am told by colleagues that if you work Monday to Friday and want to visit at the weekend, forget it. Want to pop in after the school run? Forget it. The daily 3pm closing time will see to that.

We are told that those who'd rather not use internet banking – and let's face it, we're warned almost every other day about a new scam doing the rounds, so who could blame them? – will have access to cash and pay in cheques at the post office down the road.

A place that even on a normal day sees queues up the length of the store, never mind at Christmas – and through no fault of the staff, this is simply the nature of the transactions.

And never mind anyone who wants to apply for a mortgage, set up a bank account for a child or any number of reasons where you need to see someone in person. That'll be a trip to Falmouth please. If you're down in Lizard Village that's an hour's journey each way – and let's hope you're not attempting it on a bus.

Think just because something is the last one of its kind it can't possibly shut? Think again.