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Burslem in Stoke on Trent becomes UK's first large town with no free ATM

Recent figures show that free ATM machines have been closed at an unprecedented rate in the UK - of around 250 a month - since the beginning of 2018 - PA
Recent figures show that free ATM machines have been closed at an unprecedented rate in the UK - of around 250 a month - since the beginning of 2018 - PA

Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent has become the first large town to lose all its free cash points after a string of major banks turned their backs on the high street.

After the town's last remaining free ATM started charging for withdrawals in January, its 24,000 residents are now forced to choose between paying 95p and driving miles each time they want to access their own money.

It comes after local branches of Nationwide, NatWest and Lloyds have all shut in the last three years, and changes to the funding of independent cash points to led to hole-in-the-walls across the UK starting to charge or being removed.

Recent figures show that free ATM machines have been closed at an unprecedented rate in the UK - of around 250 a month - since the beginning of 2018.

Burslem was once home to the famous potter Josiah Wedgwood and is visited by thousands of tourists each year. It is also home to a number of celebrities including Robbie Williams.

Ruth Smeeth, MP for Stoke-on-Trent, has held a crisis meeting with LINK, the UK's network of cash machines, to discuss the situation in Burslem.

She said: "As of January, Burslem residents no longer have access to a free-to-use cash point. That is completely unacceptable for a town of some 20,000 people.

"Those on low incomes will be hit hardest by the need to pay for cash withdrawals, and data shows that new businesses struggle in areas where free access to cash is not available to the community.

"I have asked the Treasury minister to meet with me as a matter of urgency to see what can be done to reverse this situation and ensure that our ATM companies are meeting their obligations to provide free access to cash."

Robert Jenrick MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said: "We are pressing continuously the payment regulator and the LINK organisation which manages the ATM network to ensure a good supply of cash in all parts of the country.

"We recently did a call for evidence at the Treasury to give greater consideration to how we can maintain that supply as we move to an increasingly more cashless society and protect those who are vulnerable and harder to serve."

Locals in Burslem have described feeling "robbed" of free access to their funds, while business owners and shoppers say the lack of cash machines makes things "very difficult".

Phil Hardy, 53, who owns Otters Tears Beer Company claims he has been forced to use a bank in 20 miles away in Macclesfield since all of the town's banks have closed. He said: "The lack of physical cash has affected my business in more ways than one.

"When my card reader broke, and the card machines were out of order, I had a customer that had to wait a whole hour just to be able to pay for something because there was nowhere for them to get cash from. So if the card reader doesn't work, then I don't get the business."

Shopper Janette Allen, 66, who lives in Burslem, added: "It's just not fair. A lot of people like having money on them."

Stoke-on-Trent city councillor Alan Dutton, who represents Burslem Central, echoed the disappointment of shoppers and traders, describing it as "absolute robbery".

He said: "A lot of people use cash, and now that all the cash machines have disappeared, we are in a desperate situation."