Two Highland Perthshire branches of TSB will be closed six days a week from the end of July.

Three months from now, Pitlochry and Aberfeldy will see counters closed at the TSB on all but one day a week.

The bank told local councillors on Thursday - ahead of contacting customers - that opening hours are being cut in response to dwindling footfall.

TSB does not anticipate any job losses and currently has no plans to introduce mobile branch facilities to compensate for the shrinking face-to-face contact time.

Following the withdrawal of the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Bank of Scotland, many locals moved their accounts to TSB which is the only remaining bank in town.

There are five branches of TSB in Perthshire, in Aberfeldy, Pitlochry, Crieff, Coupar Angus and Blairgowrie. Under the proposed new opening rota, one branch will be open every day during the working week.

From the end of July, Aberfeldy’s TSB, the only bank left in the town, will be open just on Tuesdays and Pitlochry customers will be out of luck unless it’s a Thursday.

Aberfeldy customers are being directed to use the branch in Crieff.

A bank spokesperson said: “If a customer needs to access a TSB branch during a time in which TSB Aberfeldy is closed, the nearest branch is Crieff which is 23.3 miles away.

“Customers also have access to our digital and telephone banking services and can complete many personal banking tasks at the local post office which is located 0.2 miles away.”

Pitlochry residents in need of bank services are directed to travel 23 miles to Blairgowrie.

The dramatically reduced opening hours goes counter to the claim made by Richard Meddings, the TSB executive director, on February 1, touting TSB’s commitment to people who wanted to visit their branch.

Mr Meddings stated then: “At a time when some banks are quietly retreating from communities, we’re proud to support local customers and businesses through our branches across the country, alongside digital and telephone banking.”

Writing to elected members, a TSB official said: “Our customers use banking services in different ways and the way they bank continues to change. That is why we try to adapt our offer with our customers and remain focused on offering brilliant service however a customer chooses to bank.

“We are determined to make significant efforts to keep branches with low footfall open by reducing opening hours. This is part of a concerted effort to reduce costs so that we can protect our physical presence.”

Figures showed customer usage of the TSB’s Aberfeldy branch had decreased by 12 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2018 and customer usage of the Pitlochry branch had decreased even more, by 27 per cent over the same period.

TSB claim 80 per cent of Aberfeldy customers and 83 per cent of Pitlochry customers “use another branch, or telephone or digital banking services to access TSB banking services.”

Highland Ward Conservative councillor John Duff said: “It is extremely disappointing to learn that, despite the recent proud claim of their executive director to support local customers through their branches across the country, that the TSB is reducing its service in Highland Perthshire to just one day at Aberfeldy and Pitlochry with further cuts elsewhere in Perth and Kinross.

“Once again, it is the rural towns and villages that feel the brunt of the banking cuts. This will be damaging to local businesses and communities and I call upon Mr Meddings to back up his statement and reconsider these proposals.”

The SNP’s Cllr Mike Williamson also responded to the decision: “This is a real shame. It is not long ago that Aberfeldy and Pitlochry had access to three different banks. The one day opening plan will have huge impact in rural Highland Perthshire, an area where so many switched bank accounts because the RBS left last year. I hope TSB reconsiders this decision.”