A PETITION to save Dalgety Bay's Royal Bank of Scotland from closure has been launched by Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser.

Last week, the Press reported that the Regents Way branch would be one of six across the Kingdom – including Cowdenbeath – that would shut in October.

The axe will fall on 30 branches across the country as RBS in a move that they say is due to an increase in mobile and online banking, coinciding with a decrease in in-branch transactions, but Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP Roger Mullin branded the decision as "simply unacceptable".

He was joined in condemning the move by depute Fife Council leader Lesley Laird and the Fife branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, and now the Conservative shadow finance minister Mr Fraser has written to the bank's CEO Ross McEwan in a bid to overturn the decision.

In his letter, he has outlined his concern about access to services for constituents and what provisions RBS will make for customers, and commented: "Several constituents have reached out to me to express their concern over the closing of the Dalgety Bay branch and I would like to echo these thoughts in the hope that RBS reverse this decision.

"Online banking is both fast and convenient but there is no substitute to speaking to your bank manager or teller face-to-face.

"Local bank branches have been the lifeblood of our high street and the move towards online banking is a blow to towns and villages across the country.

"With online fraud increasing at an alarming rate, banks moving services from the high street need to ensure that vulnerable customers are fully insulated from spyware and other attacks."

Following the closure announcement, SNP MP Mr Mullin said that he was "deeply dismayed" and vowed to hold talks with RBS over the matter, while the Federation of Small Businesses warmed the move could hurt smaller firms' "productivity, their profitability and, ultimately, the local economy".

Three West Fife branches – Inverkeithing, Aberdour and Kelty – were shut by RBS in 2015 but they said the number of transactions in the Dalgety Bay branch had declined by 16 per cent in 2011.

They added that they were committed to providing "a range of banking services" for customers, including an agreement with the Post Office to pay money in, take money out, check balances and for business customers to get coinage.

The branch is set to close on October 9.