FIVE branches of NatWest in Hampshire are set to be axed as the bank and its parent company Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) announce more than 150 closures nationwide.

The branches set for the chop are London Road (Southampton), Portswood, Hythe, Chandler's Ford and New Milton.

RBS say the closures were forced by a "dramatic shift" in customer banking.

The decision will affect 30 RBS and 128 NatWest branches and hit around 470 jobs.

The company said it had considered branch usage and the alternative ways customers can bank, adding: "We have seen a dramatic shift in the way our customers are choosing to bank, with more using mobile and online over traditional branch counters.

"Simple transactions undertaken in branch at NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland have fallen by 43 per cent since 2010, while online and mobile transactions have increased by more than 400 per cent."

Around 770 staff will be affected by the closures, but 300 will be moved to other jobs.

Unite union acting general secretary Gail Cartmail accused RBS, which is majority owned by the public, of "turning its back" on the communities that have been the foundation of its business for generations.

She said: "That's bad news for our members who now have to live with the threat of redundancy, and it's bad news for customers and businesses.

"Banks have a duty to the wider community and that is especially the case for banks like RBS that have large taxpayer-owned shareholdings.

"People like the face-to-face contact that having a physical presence in the high street provides.

"Pensioners, people with mobility issues, and those without internet access are being particularly hard-hit, especially in rural areas.

"Small businesses are also badly affected, especially those that rely on cash-handling.

"It's time for banking regulators and Government to intervene, to force banks to maintain an adequate network that properly serves communities across the UK."