BANK bosses have axed a 24-hour service following a spate of vandalism at a Bolton branch.

The lobby of the HSBC bank in Deansgate will be closed after normal opening hours from Monday.

It is currently accessible in the evenings for customers needing to use the cash machines and deposit facilities..

But next week the bank will stop the after-hours service because of problems with vandalism and homeless people sleeping in the lobby overnight. Closure of the late-night lobbies at HSBC is not a national policy but a spokesman for the Bolton branch said: "We have had problems with ongoing vandalism, and the safety of customers and staff must be our prime consideration."

The spokesman said the vandalism was not excessive, but staff had arrived for work and found people sleeping rough on the floor.

He said: "The police have had to be called a number of times and customers were complaining. We will still have two external ATM machines which offer our customers a 24-hour service."

The lobby can be accessed by simply pressing a button to open the door.

Some customers have suggested that this makes it too easy for vandals to get in and say that it should be changed so that access is only allowed when customers swipe their bank card.

But the spokesman said: "We have had numerous instances in other branches where card access is the only way in and people can still get in and cause damage."

One HSBC customer using the lobby yesterdaysaid: "It's a shame they have to close it down, but it is a problem.

"I have been here in the morning and there has been cardboard all over the floor where people have been sleeping overnight.

"Sometimes it's a real mess."