An Oxford church has been left without a bank account for more than a month after it was suddenly closed without warning.

John Bunyan Baptist Church in Cowley has been unable to pay its bills, invoice customers for the use of its facilities or receive any donations from its members after its bank account was closed by Barclays.

Barclays said the account was closed on November 1 due to “human error”.

READ MORE: Almost 100 new homes APPROVED near Oxford despite fears

The bank then sent a cheque for £17,000 to Amy-Joy Allen, the church administrator and treasurer, which has since been sitting on her kitchen table.

Ms Allen said: “I can’t begin to think how I am going to start getting all together again when the bank account reopens.

“They said they sent a notification about the closure but I didn’t get it."

Oxford Mail: John Bunyan Baptist Church in Cowley

She admitted she was in “floods of tears” initially when she saw the bank balance at zero without knowing the account had been closed.

Ms Allen continued: “The first time I knew was when I checked online and then I received the cheque and huge wodge of bank statements because they said it's policy to send the last five years’ worth when an account is closed.

“I also put in a complaint and every time I ring up they tell me something different about that.

“There is no continuity. I have sleepless nights. It’s a real worry.

“We are a very small church. We have a membership of about 25 people and they are all elderly.

“They don’t really understand it and are asking why their standing orders aren’t coming out.

“I was a bit worried about the utility bills but we haven’t had any final reminders yet.”

READ MORE: Oxfordshire hotel wins best wedding venue in the Cotswolds title

Oxford Mail: John Bunyan Baptist Church in Cowley

The church has a deposit account with the Baptist Union and has been able to pay the vital bills to ensure the day-to-day running of the church continues.

She went on to add that the church is in the process of changing to Lloyds Bank due to the issue.

Barclays has apologised for the error and has said that a payment will be offered to the church due to the distress and inconvenience the bank closure has caused.

A Barclays spokesman said: “As part of our ongoing responsibility to help prevent financial crime and to meet our regulatory responsibilities, we are required to ensure we hold up-to-date information regarding our customers’ business accounts.

“We acknowledge that on this occasion we were in receipt of the required mandate documents and due to human error the account was incorrectly closed.

“For this error and for the time taken in reopening the account, we offer our profound apologies.”