An MP has decried the loss of another high street bank after Lloyds announced it is closing its Muswell Hill branch.

The bank, which has been in the area since 1927, will shut on January 31 after Lloyds announced the closure of 48 stores in the UK.

Hornsey and Wood Green MP Catherine West called the move “bad for high streets, bad for customers and bad for jobs”.

The MP learned of the Muswell Hill closure the day after she presented a petition to Parliament opposing the recent closure of NatWest in Crouch End.

Lloyds said the decision follows customers using the branch less often due to “changing ways customers choose to bank”.

Ms West told the Ham&High: “This is such a blow for our high street and I’ve already written to Lloyds to urge them to reconsider.

“Customers, especially elderly, disabled people and small businesses, really value going into the Muswell Hill branch and having knowledgeable staff there to help them."

Ms West added: “It’s bad for high streets, bad for customers and bad for jobs. I want to see the banks use some of their vast profits to show some social responsibility and protect vital high street banking.”

Cllr Pippa Connor (Lib Dem, Muswell Hill) said: “We cannot accept the closure of these vital local services without a fight.

"Hundreds of Muswell Hill residents, particularly the elderly and those on lower incomes, still rely on in-person banking services, and we must ensure that they are not left behind, particularly when there are alternatives available."

Earlier this year the Haringey Liberal Democrats called for banks to share the NatWest in Crouch End, and Cllr Connor said the party would ask Lloyds to consider the move.

Lloyds said people can bank at the Broadway Post Office, claiming that 87 per cent of its personal customers in Muswell Hill already use other branches or other forms of banking.

A spokesperson said: “We have made the decision to close our Muswell Hill branch on January 31 due to the changing ways customers choose to bank with us, which means the branch is being used less often.”

Earlier this year Lloyds Banking Group reported half-year pre-tax profits of £3.9bn.

Research from consumer firm Which shows that since January 2015 around 4,299 banks and building societies have closed, or are scheduled to – a rate of approximately 50 every month.