Dozens of jobs are to be lost in the county after banking giant Lloyds revealed it is closing down all branches of the Cheltenham & Gloucester.

The Oxfordshire branches are in Oxford’s High Street, Pound Way, Cowley, High Street, Witney and High Street, Chipping Norton and more than 30 workers will be axed.

Helen Weir, group executive director, retail, at Lloyds Banking Group, said: "The strategic focus for C&G from now on will be to further strengthen its intermediary and direct savings businesses.

"Another major priority for us is to ensure that we manage the closure of the C&G branch network so that it causes as little disruption as possible to our customers.

"We will work through these changes carefully and sensitively and continue to consult closely with our unions throughout the process."

Up to 1,660 full-time jobs will be affected by the cuts across the country, which angered union officials and led to dismay among workers.

The group said it was closing its network of 164 C&G branches in November.

Lloyds said Cheltenham & Gloucester customers would be able to manage their accounts at Lloyds TSB's 1,800 branches.

Changes are also being made to Lloyds' Black Horse Personal Finance business, with a reduction in the number of Black Horse centres from 92 to 61 and also re-organising its CarSelect business. This will result in the loss of 140 full-time jobs by October.

Lloyds said it would try to achieve the job cuts through natural turnover, making less use of contractors and redeploying staff wherever possible.

Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of the Unite union, said: "This move by Lloyds bank will rip the heart out of hundreds of local communities up and down the country, as customers will see their valued community bank branch close.

"Hundreds of staff who have worked hard for years to make the C&G brand a success will view this news as a kick in the teeth. UK taxpayers have not poured billions of pounds into this organisation just to see it sack thousands of hard-working people.”