TWO Dorset branches of TSB are to close after the bank said it was shutting 164 branches with the loss of around 900 jobs.

The branch at Dorchester will lose its High Street West branch on April 28 while the Old Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, will shut on February 17.

TSB’s branch in Falkland Square, Poole, is already due to close in October under previously announced cuts.

The Spanish-owned bank said the cuts have been driven by a “significant shift in customer behaviour”, as fewer people use branches and instead favour online banking.

The company, which is based in Edinburgh, had previously said it intended to reduce the size of its branch network but it had accelerated plans amid the pandemic.

It will leave the bank with 290 branches, more than halving its store estate over the past seven years.