Both Kelty and Aberdour are set to have their branches axed due to falling transaction numbers and fewer regular customers. The Aberdour facility will close on 25th August, while Kelty’s will remain open until 1st September.

Lochs councillor Alex Campbell hit out against the plans and told the Press that he would be fighting against the closure of the Kelty branch.

“That’s not at all good news,” he said. “I would certainly challenge that.

“We have to petition to keep it open – it’s been there for years. It’s bad for everyone in Kelty as it’s the only bank we’ve got.

“I will be writing to RBS to ask them to reconsider their position.” Aberdour Community Council chair, Arthur Lloyd, is also unhappy about the situation.

“It’s a shock if that’s the case,” he said. “But they changed their hours and then changed them back again with no consultation with the community council at all.

“It’s a negative move and will inconvenience people in the village. I can understand that they have to make business decisions but there is no communication.

“Banking decisions don’t surprise me as far as the community is concerned. They’re not community-run, they’re private and we don’t have much control over that.

“I’ll be bringing it up at the next community council meeting to see if we can find out more.” RBS customers in the villages will now have to use alternative branches, with Aberdour’s closest being three miles away in Dalgety Bay and Kelty’s lying 2.6 miles away in Cowdenbeath.

The bank confirmed that an agreement had been made with the post office so that customers can check their balance and deposit and withdraw funds, while business customers can get coinage.

According to RBS, the number of transactions in the Aberdour branch has dropped by 38 per cent since 2011 and only 16 customers use the branch on a regular weekly basis, while transaction numbers in Kelty have fallen by 16 per cent.