THE bank branch may be gone, but the residents of Whitchurch still have their cash machine – even if most of them have to nearly get down on their knees to use it.

The ATM was installed at almost pavement level on the wall of the HSBC branch in London Street – which closed last month – because the building is listed and there was nowhere else on its facia to put it.

The cashpoint was not originally as low as it is now but last year the pavement was relaid, raising the level of the walkway by several inches.

Some residents have taught their children to fetch their cash for them so they don't have to bend down. Others are forced to go down on one knee to use the machine.

But for one local, the ATM, which is 19.8 inches from the pavement, is at a perfect height.

Standing at 4ft 6ins, 47-year-old actor Brian Wheeler doesn't have to bend double or kneel down to get his hands on his cash.

Brian, who played an Ewok and a Jawa in Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi, and has also starred in the most recent Harry Potter film, said: “Everyone has to crouch to use it but for me it’s quite handy. I think it’s just me and the children of the town who find it the perfect height.”

A group of residents launched a campaign to save the HSBC branch last year after it was revealed that it could close. They failed to save the branch from closure but they managed to keep the cashpoint.

IT manager Mike Stead, from the Save Whitchurch Bank group, said: “There is another cashpoint at the Tesco but the HSBC machine is the only one in the middle of town. It’s also the only one open 24 hours because the Tesco one is indoors and closes when the store shuts.

“It was so important that even if we could not change their minds about the branch itself, we had to persuade them to keep the cashpoint.”

The 37-year-old dad-of-two added: “When they installed the ATM, they had no choice but to put it so low. I think people who are young or a bit more sprightly might just be able to bend over to use the ATM.

“But taller or older people have to crouch down on their haunches to get their money – it’s like watching a giraffe drink from a pool.”