MEL Wilson has served her customers at the Minto Lounge Bar in Lochgelly for 28 years.

From when the miners’ strike was still fresh in locals’ thoughts, through times when the Fife town was dubbed Britain’s worst place to live, to it being named Scotland’s most improved town.

And now? “It’s like a ghost town,” she sighs.

Her bar sits slap in the middle of Lochgelly’s Bank Street. The main route through the town, it’s lined with local shops, hairdressers, pubs, a bakery, a Co-operative.

What Bank Street doesn’t have, however, is a bank.

Indeed Lochgelly, with its population of just over 7,000, is one of the increasing number of towns in Scotland that has no bank branch. Add in the nearby central Fife communities of Ballingry, population approximately 5700, and Cardenden, which is home to around 5500 people, and it could well claim another title, that of the largest community in Scotland without a bank branch.

Ms Wilson said: “People are go right past Lochgelly to Cowdenbeath to go to the bank. They’re doing their shopping at the same time, so businesses here are suffering.”

The Minto Lounge is less than 200 yards from the front door of what was until February the town’s last bank, the Bank of Scotland. Ms Wilson used to nip over the road whenever she needed change. These days she asks her regulars to bring change from home to help her out.

She added: “I have to drive to Cowdenbeath. I can’t get parked near the bank, so I’m walking around with bags of cash. Who wants to stand in the street holding a bag of money?”

Of course, Lochgelly, Ballingry and Cardenden residents are far from alone. Stewarton in East Ayrshire is around the same size as Lochgelly and it too has no branch to call its own. At the other end of the country, Speyside – despite its whisky production status – relies on occasional visits from mobile banks.

The issue will return to the political agenda tomorrow when the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee will hear evidence from business representatives.

The Federation of Small Businesses will use the meeting to renew calls for UK Government intervention to pause the current programme of RBS branch closures and to join the Scottish Government in an economic impact assessment of bank branch closures.

Andy Willox, the Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) Scottish policy convenor, says: “Two bank branches are closing every week in Scotland. There’s a clear impact on the Scottish high street – with branch closures reducing footfall and leaving unsightly empty buildings in the heart of our communities.

For some communities, it already is too late. RBS alone has closed, or plans to close, 211 branches between 2013 and 2018 – a 70 per cent reduction in their branch network in five years, leaving just 89 branches in Scotland.

The Bank of Scotland announced the closure of 11 more banks – including the Lochgelly branch – in November, while the TSB closed 17 branches in Scotland last year and the Clydesdale Bank shut 40.

Karen Renton used to close Fife Flowers on Lochgelly’s Main Street on a Wednesday afternoon to deal with deliveries or just get some time off. Instead she now spends it driving to either Cowdenbeath or Kirkcaldy to queue at the bank.

She said: “It’s a nightmare. It’s not just the time, it’s the cost of driving there and back – it’s extra expense every month.”

Royal Bank of Scotland customers in the town can look forward to a mobile bank rolling in once a week for a brief visit and the local post office – a counter within a convenience store – offers basic banking services. But it’s not enough, says Renton.

For chair of Lochgelly Development Forum Eileen McKenna, says losing the banks is a major blow after a battle back from 2004 when Lochgelly was branded the place where no one wanted to live.

“It saddens us. Lochgelly was given most improved town status in Scotland; we follow that up by shutting down the banks. It’s appalling. You feel sorry for the traders and the old people – they don’t want to go online.”

Brian Sloan, Age Scotland’s Chief Executive agrees the bank closures bring particular problems for older customers. He said: “We know that most older people prefer to do their banking face-to-face and value the personal relationships with bank staff. It’s unacceptable that many towns and communities in Scotland have been left without a single bank. One option could be shared branches, with two or more banks splitting the costs while maintaining their service for customers.”

A spokesman for the town’s last bank, the Bank of Scotland, said: “We made the difficult decision to close due to the changing ways our customers choose to bank with us, which resulted in the branch being used less often. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may have caused. We informed customers at the time of their closest alternative branch, which is Cowdenbeath.”

However Claire Baker MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, says: “It’s not good enough to suggest people should just go online. In some areas the broadband isn’t good. Besides people do need to deposit cash, pay in a cheque or just speak to someone about their banking.”

“The withdrawal of services has left the Lochgelly area as a bank desert.”